NEWS: Water Board adopts fluoridation policy 11/15/11

The Health Trust applauds the board of the Santa Clara Valley Water District for unanimously adopting a policy to fluoridate its water system.

“This is great news, especially for children and older adults in Santa Clara County,” said Health Trust CEO Frederick Ferrer. “Thanks to the leadership of the water district board, children in our community will finally get the benefits of community water fluoridation, recognized by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as one of the greatest public health breakthroughs of the 20th century.”

Read more

• The Health Trust Press Release
• The PEW Charitable Trusts Press Release
• Santa Clara Valley Water District Press Release

Our Oral Health is at Risk

The Health Trust has a longstanding commitment to oral health; we’ve invested close to $8.6 million over the last 14 years in providing services and oral health education as part of our vision of making Silicon Valley the healthiest region in America. We opened a new state of the art Children’s Dental Center in East San Jose in 2008 and a second center in Sunnyvale in 2011. Given our commitment to this issue, we are profoundly concerned about the state of oral health in Silicon Valley. A 2001 Health Trust study found about one in three kindergarteners and third graders had untreated tooth decay, and the 2005-2006 Santa Clara County Behavioral Risk Factor Survey found a third of adults have lost a tooth due to decay or gum disease. Given our commitment to health equity and reducing health disparities, we are especially concerned that poor oral health disproportionately affects low income and minority kids in our community.

Fluoride: A Proven Solution

San Jose is the largest city in the country without fluoridated water. Several other cities in our Valley are without fluoridation, or are only partially fluoridated. According to the Centers for Disease Control, water fluoridation reduces tooth decay 18%-40% in children and adults, and is “one of the ten greatest public health achievements of the 20th Century.”

The Health Trust is working with Santa Clara County Supervisor Liz Kniss, the Santa Clara County Public Health Department, local dentists and oral hygienists and community members towards a solution. On Nov. 15, 2011, the Santa Clara Valley Water District unanimously voted to support fluoridation at the district’s three water treatment plants and three wells located in Campbell. A committee of the board will work with staff to implement the policy, including looking at sources of funding. The Health Trust has offered to work with the district to form a public-private partnership to put a financing package together.

Find out more information about the oral health landscape in Silicon Valley along with The Health Trust's work in this arena by clicking on one of the reports or resources on the right. For more information on water fluoridation in Silicon Valley, contact:

408.559.9385
info@healthtrust.org