Stuart voters OK fluoridation
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Posted Feb. 20, 2008 |
By Stacie Crozier Stuart, Fla.— The city of Stuart will get the chance to put the fluoridation equipment it already owns to good use, as voters OK'd a ballot measure Jan. 29 to fluoridate its water.
After a coalition of health care professionals, community groups and concerned citizens conducted a year-long education campaign, 52 percent of Stuart's voters approved the fluoridation measure.
The city's water system has had more than $100,000 of fluoridation equipment on standby for several years, said Dr. David Boden. The equipment was purchased with a grant from the state.
A member of the ADA Council on Ethics, Bylaws and Judicial Affairs, Dr. Boden is a periodontist with offices in Port St. Lucie and Stuart.
The debate began countywide in 2003, when the Martin County Commission voted to fluoridate the county's water. But in December 2006, three of five Martin County commissioners voted against fluoridation—effectively putting Stuart's plans to fluoridate on hold.
This Stuart vote will bring fluoridation to about 18,000 residents. Fluoridated water will begin to flow within 90 to 120 days, the time needed to obtain materials and conduct the necessary start-up testing, Dr. Boden added.
"Our coalition was organized for the long haul," said Dr. Boden. "Our goal was to keep our campaign positive and get people to come out and vote—not because of fear, but because they knew it was right for the community."
The coalition, he added, worked to develop personal relationships at the local level—with local government officials, local newspapers and other media outlets and other groups.
Coalition members also spoke to a variety of community groups—Rotary, Kiwanis, local health care professionals and more—to prepare for the vote.
"We were honest right from the get-go," said Dr. Boden, "so when something came up, we had a trust relationship in place that made it much more likely that people would listen to us with an open mind."
The coalition also relied on help from the ADA, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the local and state health departments and other trusted sources to help address a variety of fluoridation questions.
"We went to the people who would give us the best information available hands down," Dr. Boden added. "The ADA offers great resources for any community that sees this issue coming down the road. It has done its homework and is doing a phenomenal job helping local dentists in their communities. You don't have to reinvent the wheel. You can talk to people with experience."
For details on the campaign, visit their Web site: www.healthysmilesproject.org  .
Log on to www.ada.org/goto/fluoride for a variety of fluoridation resources, details on emerging issues and more.
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