There was no point preaching to the choir. So at the Utah Oral Health Summit Friday — attended by a large room full of dentists, nurses and oral-health policymakers — there was only a brief mention of fluoride.
Fluoridation is a hot-button issue this fall as voters in Salt Lake, Davis and some Cache county cities prepare to vote Nov. 7 on whether to add fluoride to their drinking water. But keynote speakers at Friday's summit talked instead about other ways to provide dental care to the state's poor. The need for fluoride, Utah's state dental director said later, is a given.
"It's the most cost-effective way to improve dental care," Steven J. Steed said during a break in the summit proceedings. "Every dollar spent on fluoride saves $80 in dental care," added James Sutherland, regional dental director of the federal Health Resources and Services Administration.
Meanwhile, fluoride foes were keeping up their attack on the fluoride initiative. A group that includes Citizens for Safe Drinking Water-Utah, Scientists Against Fluoridation, and the Eagle Forum, have issued what they call the "$10,000 Fluoride Challenge."
The group is offering a "$10,000 reward to the first person who proves that the following quotes about fluoride are not accurate," a press release explained. The eight quotes included "fluoride is more toxic than lead and slightly less toxic than arsenic" and "dental fluorosis — mottling or discoloration of the teeth—is attributed to an over-abundance of fluoride."
"A formal application to accept the Fluoride Challenge must be made in writing, sent by registered mail to G. Green, General Delivery, Orem, UT 84057, and received by the Challenge representative by 5 p.m., Nov. 3rd," according to the press release. Details and rules are available at local libraries, health food stores or at www.fluoridechallenge.homestead.com.
Dentists and others attending Friday's Oral Health Summit, held at the Department of Natural Resources in Salt Lake City, focused instead on Utah residents' need for greater access to dental care.
Only 24 percent of children enrolled in Medicaid received at least one dental service in 1999, Steed told the summit participants. In some of Utah's local health departments, as many as 42 percent of 6- to 8-year-olds had untreated tooth decay.
"A tremendous need for emergency care as well as preventive and treatment (dental) care among underserved populations places extraordinary demands" upon community dental clinics, Steed said.
Although Salt Lake has more dentists volunteering their time than in any other place in the nation, according to Wayne Cottam, dental director of Salt Lake Community Health Centers Inc., there are still too many children and adults not receiving care. "A lot of important people out there don't think this is a serious problem," he added.
E-mail: jarvik@desnews.com