Buffalo, NY (WBEN) Buffalo water officials tell WBEN after an eight year absence, fluoride will be added to the city's drinking water supply once again.
The lack of fluoride was first reported by The Buffalo News and came to the surprise of many residents and one prominent dentist contacted by WBEN.
OJ McFoy, Chairman of Buffalo Water, says the city has invested more than $1 million to study and upgrade the current system. "We had a system that was dry based, that was a sodium based system, and we're switching over to a liquid based system. Then in 2015, we actually received grant funds from the Department of Health $300,000, to move that project forward," says McFoy.
McFoy says the city pressed pause because of changes to treatment being harmful, and a study was needed to make sure lead wasn't getting into the water. "We partnered with the University of Buffalo, just to confirm whatever changes we were going to be doing to our treatment was not going to have an effect. That change was changing over from, you know, a sodium piece to FSA. So they studied that. And they came back to us in November of 2019 saying this will not have those results," says McFoy.
McFoy admits the COVID pandemic slowed the rollout of the new fluoridation system. He expects the project to be back in place by the end of this year.
Dr. Bernie Kolber of Buffalo Dental Group tells WBEN he was surprised to hear the news. "The waters in just about all municipal locations have been fluoridated since the 1960s, and it's been very, very effective at reducing a lot of dental decay, especially in kids. I am surprised that this went on that this was not people were not made aware of it. So they could have used supplements," says Kolber.
Kolber says there has always been a little bit of debate on the topic but it's been proven to be very, very effective. "It hardens the enamel of the teeth and is probably the most effective thing that can be done to prevent dental decay," explains Kolber.
He says he definitely will see more decay because it's not something that shows up overnight. "Because the the fluoride that's in the water will harden the teeth over a period of years. So it's most important during the formative years of the teeth," notes Kolber.
Kolber recommends a fluoridated toothpaste. "If there's a child especially or someone that is more at risk, people with dry mouth are much more susceptible, getting an amount of fluoride rinse or fluoride gel that they can get from some over the counter or actually prescribed or can be obtained from the dentist," says Kolber.