The Goldenrod's Legislative Superlatives, January 24-28

A bad week for dentists as communities could potentially opt out of fluoridated water supplies.

It’s time for this week’s installment of The Goldenrod’s legislative superlatives, which will run each Friday for paid subscribers only through the end of session. Have a friend who would enjoy these not-so-prestigious accolades? Encourage them to sign up using our January-only discount code:

Have a suggestion for next week? Drop it in the comments below!

Most Likely To Upset Dentists: House Bill 361
It’s no secret that dental care is often inaccessible and unaffordable in rural pockets of Kentucky, making routine checkups out of reach for far too many folks (and that’s to say nothing of major, necessary restorative work like root canals that can end up costing a couple of paychecks). Oral health is a critical part of overall health—gum disease can increase risk for heart disease, while tooth loss can increase risk for coronary artery disease—making preventative oral hygiene, however you can get it, critical.

Which is why it’s surprising that a gaggle of legislators have introduced a bill to make water fluoridation programs optional for all Kentucky communities.

Oral health experts tell us that one of the best ways to strengthen enamel and prevent major issues with teeth and gums (particularly in children) is by using fluoride, and the Kentucky Oral Health Program has been helping communities fluoridate their water since Maysville became the first community to do so in 1951. Today, 217 fluoridated communities serve nearly 95 percent of the state’s population, according to the KOHP, and fluoridation is mandatory for community water supplies serving populations of 3,000 or more. (Communities with under 1,500 residents can also get help from the state to fluoridate their water, particularly in schools through the Rural School Fluoridation Program.)

Why, then, would legislators want to remove this resource from a community’s oral health quiver? It’s definitely not cost related: an economic review of multiple studies by the CDC found that “savings for communities ranged from $1.10 to $135 for every $1 invested in water fluoridation.” Perhaps it’s part of the national anti-fluoridation movement, which has gained quite a bit of traction in recent years. (This 2020 article from The Atlantic lays out its history, if you’re interested.) Most likely, it’s part of the larger “local choice” chest-thumping that’s become de rigueur in the legislature these days.

I’ll be following this one while I scrub my chompers to the length of Alan Jackson’s Little Bitty, which clocks in as close to the American Dental Association’s recommended brush-for-two-minutes mark as possible.