Fluoridation for Millions in California
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS


OS ANGELES, Feb. 12 — California's largest water agency voted on
Tuesday to add fluoride to the water it supplies to 18 million homes
and businesses, from the Mexican border to the Central Coast.

The agency, the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California,
said it would take more than two years to fluoridate its water to
protect teeth from cavities.

"This is very significant in that public water fluoridation has been
touted as one of the great public health achievements of the
century," Dr. Timothy Collins, chairman of the California
Fluoridation Task Force, said.

Dr. Collins, who is also head of dentistry for Los Angeles County,
said fluoridation could reduce dental decay by 20 percent to 40
percent.

Only a handful of Southern California cities, like Beverly Hills and
Long Beach, currently put fluoride in their water.

The director of the water district, Ronald Gastelum, said the measure
would add less than $1 a year to each customer's water bill. Mr.
Gastelum noted that the American Dental Association estimated that
every dollar spent on putting fluoride in water saved about $80 in
dental health care costs.

Only 37 percent of Californians currently receive fluoridated
drinking water, the Dental Health Foundation , a coalition of
California dental organizations, said.

The water district supplies water to 26 cities in six counties.