Regarding Davis’ column about fluoride in the Sept. 7 issue of the Optimist:

I was disappointed to read the opinion piece by Rachel Davis entitled “New fluoride findings call for change.”

An opinion piece in The Optimist is not the place to espouse one’s own personal biases backed up only by pseudoscientific claims.

The American Dental Association’s official stance on the issue is that community water fluoridation has been hailed as “one of the ten great public health achievements of the 20th century.”

Furthermore, the ADA are concerned about communities not getting the levels they need partly due to “an abundance of misinformation that has flourished on the Internet.”

As a physician who daily cares for people with stomach problems, osteoporosis, Alzheimer’s disease, cancer, etc., I can assure you fluoride in water is not the cause of these problems.

As a graduate of ACU in 1983 with a degree in biochemistry, I can also assure you that the water departments of all cities are very carefully monitored so that the chemical levels are well within safe and effective levels.

The article insinuates that great harm is occurring with fluoridation, a claim that just is not substantiated by any credible source. The Optimist staff just needs to be more careful as they learn about the important journalism skill of opinion pieces.

Mitchell Huebner
Medical doctor in Dallas
mitchellhuebner@texashealth.org