Something to smile about

Smile Ocala, your city government is listening to you.

Less than a month after the city’s water resources director recommended ending fluoridation of the municipal water supply, a recommendation endorsed the Utility Advisory Board, the city has reversed course in the face of a firestorm of opposition. Thank goodness, common sense prevailed.

The issue captured national attention last month after Sean Lanier, the city’s water resources chief, presented the utility board a series of studies showing the ill effects of fluoridation. Lanier apparently was convincing, because the Utility Advisory Board voted unanimously to support his plan.

Before the matter could even be formally presented to the City Council, which would have had to vote to carry out the proposal, local dentists and state and national dental health advocates bombarded City Hall with facts, figures and plenty of spirited public opposition.

“As a pediatric dentist, I can tell you that the patients that I see that have lived their entire lives on the fluoridated water management system here, they have very few cavities,” Dr. Suzanne Thiems-Heflin told the City Council at its April 16 meeting. “But the kids that live out in the country on wells that don’t have the benefit of fluoridation have lots of cavities and have lots of oral health problems.”

That message was echoed over and over by local dentists, the Florida Dental Association, the American Fluoridation Society and major dental insurance companies, all of which said fluoridation of public water systems is one of the great public health successes of our lifetimes.

There is power in numbers, not to mention a verifiable scientific message. So on April 24, City Manager John Zobler sent the following email to the City Council and Mayor Kent Guinn:

“Based upon the amount of public feedback and credible information concerning fluoridation received from citizens and public and private health professionals, the Water and Sewer Department will reconvene its Utility Advisory Board in a special meeting. The Water and Sewer Department has modified its position to recommend to the Utility Advisory Board that the City’s ordinance (Sec. 70-371) concerning fluoridation be amended from a fixed amount, which currently exceeds recommended optimum levels, to require compliance with the Florida state statute, which will allow the City to provide the optimum amount recommended by the Florida Department of Health (DOH).”

At that special meeting Wednesday, the Utility Advisory board voted — again, unanimously — to abandon the removal of fluoride from city water and instead revise the city ordinance regulating the amount of fluoride in the water. The current city ordinance regulating fluoride in the municipal water supply calls for 1 milligram per liter of water. The state recommends that level be at .7 milligrams, which the city has been following. Nonetheless, the ordinance needs to be modified to reflect the state guidelines, and that is what the city administration will now pursue.

As Lanier told the Star-Banner on Friday, “The city’s mission statement basically says we will provide the services the community wants. There was no one from the public that showed up for it (stopping fluoridation).”

We applaud Zobler, Lanier and the Utility Advisory Board for not only listening, but hearing the public and responding quickly.

Sometimes you can fight City Hall. And sometimes, you can even win. That’s something to smile about.