California Water News Daily Your Source For Water News in California
Effective this month, large areas in metro San Jose started receiving fluoride in its drinking water. A 2011 decision of the Santa Clara Valley Water District (SCVWD) board of directors to fluoridate the water is now – partially — coming to fruition.
The decision, and its implementation, levels the playing field between the haves and the have nots in the region. Specifically, the start of fluoridation closes the gap between zip codes that have had fluoride, or partial fluoridation, with those areas with no fluoride. Within Santa Clara County 38 zip codes have had some or full fluoridation versus 25 zip codes that have been lacking the additive.
The areas previously lacking fluoride represent the poorer areas of the county. Fluoride has been found to reduce cavities, especially for children who lack for any other dental care. Implementation of fluoridation is expected to be completed in 2017 for eastern Santa Clara County, and in 2020 for western Santa Clara County.
The effort requires the construction of new fluoride storage tanks. The Santa Teresa Water Treatment Plant is now operational and serving 230,000 individuals. The two other treatment plants, Penitencia and Rinconada, when completed, will add another 520,000 people receiving fluoride.
Although fluoride in drinking water has become increasingly common in large cities, San Jose has been the largest city with fluoride in its drinking water. The decision to add fluoride to San Jose’s water comes after three organizations agreed to donate a total of $2,4 million toward the cost of fluoridating the district’s three plants: $1 million will come from the Health Trust, $900,000 from FIRST 5 Santa Clara County and $500,000 from the California Dental Foundation.
Although health professionals, by and large, recommend fluoride in the water, The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) is recommending suspension of prescription fluoride supplements (drops and tablets/lozenges) for one year in areas served by the SCVWD that are fully or partially fluoridated.
Prescribing fluoride supplements is at the professional discretion of health providers, based on factors such as the current level of fluoride in the local public water system, as well as a patient’s age and overall risk for tooth decay. Halting supplements during this one-year period will help ensure that consumers do not receive more fluoride than is necessary and will not have an effect on tooth formation in children. This allows local public water systems time to record average fluoride levels in the water and accurately determine who should continue to require fluoride supplements.
Additional information on fluoride in public water systems from the American Dental Association can be found at: http://www.ada.org/en/member-center/oral-healthtopics/fluoride-supplements.
