The Honorable Terry B. Gerrantana
Connecticut Senate
The Honorable Matthew Ritter
Connecticut House of Representatives
The Honorable Joseph Crisco
Connecticut Senate
The Honorable Emmett D. Riley
Connecticut House of Representatives
The Honorable Joe Markley
Connecticut Senate
The Honorable Prasad Srinivasan
Connecticut House of Representatives
Legislative Office Building
300 Capitol Avenue
Hartford CT 06106
Re: Proposed Bill 256 AN ACT CONCERNING THE ADDITION OF FLUORIDE TO PUBLIC WATER
SUPPLIES.
Dear Senator Gerrantana, Representative Ritter, Senator Crisco, Representative Riley, Senator
Markley and Representative Srinivasan,
We are writing as Connecticut health advocates and providers, very concerned to learn that the
General Assembly is considering a bill to eliminate the statute to add fluoride in public water
supplies.
This year marks the 50th anniversary of community water fluoridation in community water with
passage of Section 19-38 (formerly Section 19 – 13b) in which states “Wherever the fluoride
content of public water supplies serving twenty thousand or more persons supplies less than
eight-tenths of a milligram per liter of fluoride, the person, firm, corporation or municipality
having jurisdiction over the supply shall add a measured amount of fluoride to the water so as to
maintain a fluoride content of between eight-tenths of a milligram per liter and one and twotenths milligrams per liter.
Adding fluoride to water is only one example of adding minerals or vitamins to food or
beverages as way to prevent disease. Even today, with toothpaste and other available sources of
fluoride, research shows that fluoridated water reduces the rate of tooth decay by about
25percent over a lifetime. Since its passage in 1965, millions of children and adults have
benefited from fluoride in water, with the average number of decayed, missing or filled teeth for
adults ages 20 -34 fell by more than 55 percent between 1966 and 2004. Even with this
impressive progress, tooth decay is the most common chronic disease for children and adults.
Tooth decay disrupts children’s and adult’s ability to eat, sleep, speak learn, attend school, go to
work or even find a job. Research shows that spending $1 on fluoridation saves $38 because it
reduces the need for dental treatment.
Fluoride in the concentration found in community water supplies is completely safe. The
fluoride that is added to public water supplies is absorbed and metabolized by the human body
exactly as naturally occurring fluoride is. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), under
the Safe Drinking Water Act, regulates drinking water and sets standards to limit the levels of
contaminants in drinking water. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)
reviews scientific evidence and recommends an appropriate fluoride level, taking into account
all our sources of fluoride. Connecticut should be proud to pay a positive role in the prevention
of this chronic disease and its prevention.
I also believe that most Connecticut residents would agree with the Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention (CDC) that named water fluoridation as one of the “Ten Great Public Health
Interventions of the 20th Century.
You have always been a champion of public health, so we ask you not to raise Proposed Bill 256.
If we can be of any assistance, please call the Connecticut Oral Health Initiative or any of the cosigners. Thank you for your time and your commitment to the health of all Connecticut citizens.
Sincerely,
Mary Moran Boudreau
Executive Director
Connecticut Oral Health Initiative
175 Main Street
Hartford, CT 06106
860-246-2644
[email protected]
Doris Raposo, RDH
Executive Director
Connecticut Dental Hygienists’ Association
P O Box 54
Darien, CT 06820
203-210-5600
[email protected]
Robert Harris, DMD
Bright Smile America
719 Cottage Grove Road
Bloomfield, CT 06002
860-242-5005
[email protected]
Nancy L. Heaton, MPH
Chief Executive Officer
Foundation for Community Health
478 Cornwall Bridge Road
Sharon, CT 06069
(800)695-7210
[email protected]
Heather Crockett-Washington DDS, MPH
Chief Dental Officer
Community Health Center, Inc
675 Main Street
Middletown, CT 06457
[email protected]
Office: 860-347-6971 Ext 3059
Jesse White-Fresé, MA, LPC
Executive Director
CT Association of School Based Health
Centers, Inc.
PO Box 771
North Haven, CT 06423
PH: 203-230-9976
Jose Ortiz
Hispanic Health Council
175 Main Street
Hartford CT 06106
860-527-0856
[email protected]
Cliff O'Callahan, MD, PhD, FAAP
Pediatric Faculty and Director of Nurseries
Middlesex Hospital
90 South Main Street
Middletown, CT 06457.
Office: 860-358-6407
V. Deborah Culligan
Coordinator of Health Education Programs/
Deputy Director
Quinnipiack Valley Health District
1151 Hartford Turnpike
North Haven CT 06473
203 248-4528
[email protected]
Anna Washington
Dental Practice Manager
Southwest Community Health Center, Inc.
46 Albion Street
Bridgeport, CT 06605
Tel: (203) 332-3538/Fax: (203) 339-7192
Email: [email protected]
Anne Biancamano RDH
West Hartford, CT
[email protected]
Sharon Efron, RDH
87 Pheasant Hill Drive
West Hartford, CT 06107
860 559 4010
Pamela Kilbey-Fox
Groton, CT
[email protected]
N. Summer Lerch, DDS
110 Mack Road,
Middlefield, CT 06455
cell: 203-980-9663
[email protected]
Cynthia Lord
207 Patton Drive
Cheshire, CT 06410
203-272-3790
[email protected]
Marcia Lorentzen, RDH, MSEd, EdD
28 Mountain View Drive
Weston, CT 06883
203-226-6458
[email protected]
Alba M. Martinez
Hartford, CT
Carolyn Mirek, RDH
South Windsor Town Councilor
48 Sele Drive
South Windsor, CT
[email protected]
860-729-3806
Shari Aponte Sadowski
21 Rose Lane
Sandy Hook, CT 06482
[email protected]
Lynn Cimino Seidel
8 Cedarwood Drive
Ellington, CT 06029
860-875-4088
[email protected]
Hilda Vazquez
20 Allen Place
Hartford, CT 06106
860-993-4831
[email protected]