Dear Governor Scott:

The Dentists of Collier County and Florida need your support in helping to keep our residents
health as good as it is.
Certain individuals in our community are trying to convince the Collier County Commissioners
to remove fluoride. One of the Commissioners staff members, Camden Smith, has presented a
petition to have our community water fluoridation stopped at a Board of County Commissioners
(BCC) meeting last month. This has been attempted several times in recent years and we were
able to present the scientific facts to defeat these attempts. However, this time she has her boss,
Commissioner Tom Henning, also supporting this cessation. Previously he had voted to retain it
in Colliers water. Ms. Smith is bringing her petition and advocacy forward as a citizen, but it is
obvious to all that she is presenting it as though she is representing it as a member of the
BOCCs staff.
In addition to Commissioner Henning, Commissioner Georgia Hiller staunchly opposes
community water fluoridation (CWF). Her reasons hinge on a personal story of her son having
stains on his teeth while he was growing up. He is now an adult. What she describes is not
something that CWF causes. She is calling it a cosmetic condition termed dental fluorosis.
However, she reports that it went away when they stopped drinking fluoridated water as her
dentist advised. There is no way to verify this. Commissioner Hiller has also announced a run
for the Florida House. Her position on CWF is not a popular one in our Republican Party in our
state.
The facts presented by the CDC state that:
1. The safety and benefits of fluoride are well documented. For 71 years, people in the
United States have benefited from drinking water with optimal levels of fluoride, leading
to better dental health.
2. Drinking fluoridated water keeps the teeth strong and reduces tooth decay by
approximately 25% in adults and children, above and beyond tooth decay already
prevented by fluoridated toothpaste and mouthrinses. By preventing tooth decay,
community water fluoridation has been shown to save money, both for families and the
health care system.
3. Over the past several decades, there have been major improvements in the nations oral
health. Still, tooth decay remains one of the most common chronic diseases of childhood.
It is 5 times more common than asthma, and 7 times more common than hay fever
(allergic rhinitis).
Community water fluoridation has been identified as the most cost-effective method of
delivering fluoride to all members of the community, regardless of age, race, ethnicity,
educational attainment, or socioeconomic level.
For most communities, for every $1 invested in CWF, $43/person/year is saved on dental
treatment costs. That is a huge savings for our taxpayers, residents, and healthcare
system. It is a return on investment (ROI) that is nearly unparalleled in the medical or
dental fields.

4. Nearly all water contains some fluoride, but usually not enough to help prevent tooth
decay or cavities. Most of our groundwater picks up some fluoride as it passes through
the limerock formations in the ground. Collier County, like many other areas of Florida,
has fluoride already existing in its water at 0.2 mg/l (parts per million, ppm). At this
level, it does not prevent cavity reductions like it does at 0.7ppm.
Community water systems can add the right amount of fluoride to the local drinking
water to prevent tooth decay.
Community water fluoridation is recommended by nearly all public health, medical, and
dental organizations including the American Dental Association, American Academy of
Pediatrics, American Medical Association, CDC, U.S. Surgeon General, U.S. Public
Health Service, and World Health Organization.
5. Because of its contribution to the dramatic decline in tooth decay in the United States
since the 1960s, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) named
community water fluoridation one of 10 great public health achievements of the 20th
century.
6. The Healthy People Objectives 2020 have put the percentage of the U.S. on community
water systems (CWS) to be fluoridated at 79.6%. I am proud to report to you that in
Florida, as of 2013 statistics, we have surpassed this goal and stand at 81.2% of our
population on CWS receive optimally fluoridated water. That represents almost 14
million of our residents, not to mention the benefits that our tourism industry receives as
well.
The national statistics as of 2012 stand at nearly 75% of CWS are fluoridated, >210
million people. We are proudly beating those statistics. We cannot afford to lose any
ground in our fight against this communicable and contagious disease, dental decay.
Governor Scott, we were proud to support you on both of your gubernatorial campaigns and
appreciate your support of the Florida Dental Association (FDA) concerns in the past. We
appreciate all of the continued support provided by the Department of Health on this issue. A
letter of support to help keep water fluoridation here may be just the thing that we need to defeat
this action once and for all.
Sincerely,

David
David S. Clary, DDS, MS, FACP
Florida Dental Association, member