Within the early Nineteen Fifties, well being officers in towns throughout america, together with the ones in Seattle, Washington, have been keen to copy the large good fortune of the primary longitudinal fluoridation learn about in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The Seattle-King County Division of Public Well being first proposed
fluoridating Seattle’s water in 1951. The town council put the proposal to a referendum in 1952. However Seattle citizens weren’t in want of the theory, and fluoridation used to be defeated in a public vote, with 65% vote casting no and 35% vote casting sure.
Teeth decay in Seattle remained an enormous downside, and advocates within the town – which integrated native dentists, PTAs, mothers going door to door, and 15,000 citizens signing directly to a petition in want of fluoridation – requested the town to imagine the general public well being measure once more in 1963. Citizens nonetheless weren’t satisfied. The marketing campaign didn’t have the training achieve to make their case to electorate nor did it have the fortify of the town council, which remained impartial. Then again, the vote used to be a lot nearer than in 1952, with 57% antagonistic and 43% in want of neighborhood water fluoridation, main advocates to imagine that they’d effectively reached extra other people. It gave the impression that better efforts to tell electorate in conjunction with, in all probability, the truth that fluoridation had begun to turn out its advantages in different towns, had an affect on hearts and minds.
Fluoridation advocates have been undeterred. They knew fluoridated water would save you cavities, and in point of fact sought after Seattle’s children to benefit from the oral well being advantages of simply available fluoride. In 1968, dentists, mothers, and well being officers once more went to the town council, which – this time round – used to be satisfied to weigh in at the science and dental well being advantages of fluoridation. The Seattle town council voted in want of fluoridating Seattle’s water in 1968, and the measure used to be once more put to a public vote. Seattle citizens voted in want of the general public well being measure, this time with 57% in want and 43% antagonistic. With that win for oral well being, Seattle began fluoridating on January 12, 1970 and has now loved the hollow space prevention advantages of fluoridated water for 52 years.