• Place:ZOOM
  • Time:10 - 11:30 AM (PT)
  • Date:

In this Share & Learn session, you heard more about best practices in working with communities on water fluoridation, drawing from the California Fluoridation Manual, published in 2022 and available on the COHTAC website. Marjorie Stocks and Howard Pollick shared their many years of experience with several different communities in initiating and maintaining fluoridation in California. They were joined by Mark Bartson, who has many years of experience with the California State Water Resources Control Board, and representatives from a few local oral health programs (LOHPs) who spoke about their experiences with community water fluoridation efforts.

Learning objectives:

  1. Recognize how community water fluoridation can prevent tooth decay and improve oral health.
  2. Understand how to access and use the California Fluoridation Manual.
  3. Use effective communication techniques to educate their community about water fluoridation.
  4. Develop an advocacy plan in support of fluoridation.
  5. Understand best practices when creating partnerships with water professionals/districts.
Speaker Bios

Howard Pollick, BDS, MPH Health Sciences Clinical Professor, School of Dentistry, UCSF  Howard Pollick is a health sciences clinical professor in the Department of Preventive & Restorative Dental Sciences in the School of Dentistry at UCSF. He earned his dental degree from Manchester, England, and his public health degree from UC Berkeley. A diplomate of the American Board of Dental Public Health since 1985, Dr. Pollick is an American Dental Association (ADA) expert spokesperson on fluoridation since 2004, a member of the ADA National Fluoridation Advisory Committee, and a fluoridation consultant to the California Department of Public Health. 

Marjorie Stocks, MPH Fluoridation Consultant, California Dental Association Foundation Marjorie Stocks, MPH, directed the California Fluoridation Implementation Project, a statewide endeavor funded by a $15 million award from The California Endowment, through which she assisted over 10 California communities in implementing fluoridation including Sacramento, Los Angeles, Santa Monica, and the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California. As a fluoridation consultant for the California Dental Association Foundation, Ms. Stocks worked with local advocates to achieve fluoridation in the City of San Diego and the Santa Clara Valley Water District serving the San Jose area. Currently, Ms. Stocks works with the California Department of Public Health, Office of Oral Health, on a contract at UCSF. Ms. Stocks is an author of the California Fluoridation Manual. 

Mark Bartson Civil Engineer Mark is a registered civil engineer. He worked for nearly 40 years in the drinking water field for the State Water Board in various areas of the state. For the last 14 years, he was responsible for the development and implementation of standards for both drinking water and recycled water in California. In addition to work, Mark enjoys being involved with the lives of his five grandchildren and continuing to learn just like them. 

Evangelin L. Yeeda, BDS, MPH Dental Public Health Resident, UCSF  Evangelin (Eva) L. Yeeda is a passionate and ambitious individual. She recently graduated from her dental public health residency at the UCSF School of Dentistry. Her professional interests include improving patient care and treatment for underserved populations, particularly those experiencing homelessness and low-income and rural communities, and promoting community water fluoridation. She is also dedicated to community engagement and enhancing communication between oral healthcare providers and patients by improving oral healthcare literacy. Her recent focus is on improving public safety through the prevention and control of injuries. 

Jennifer Fitzpatrick, BSDH, RDH Health Program Coordinator, Sacramento County Oral Health Program Jennifer Fitzpatrick is a registered dental hygienist and program coordinator for Sacramento County LOHP. After practicing clinical dental hygiene for 17 years, Jennifer began her dental public health journey in 2007, serving both the Sacramento County Smile Keepers school-based dental disease prevention program and the Child Health and Disability Prevention program, educating primary care providers in oral health assessment and fluoride varnish application. Jennifer has led Sacramento County LOHP’s community water fluoridation outreach and education efforts since 2021. 

Danika Ng, MPH Senior Program Coordinator, County of Marin Danika Ng is a long-time advocate for public health, health equity, and community empowerment, with over 8 years of experience in working within her community. After graduating with a Master of Public Health from the University of San Francisco in 2017, she started working with the County of Marin in May of 2019 as the Oral Health Program Coordinator for Marin County’s Local Oral Health Program and is currently serving as the program’s Senior Program Coordinator. Through her time in the county, she has helped create community health worker train-the-trainer events, organized and facilitated school-based dental screening events and inclass oral health education for students, helped pass multiple resolutions within Marin County recognizing February 2020 through 2024 as Children’s Dental Health Month, and helped navigate oral health initiatives in Marin County through the coronavirus pandemic. In addition to continuing her work with Marin County’s Oral Health Program, she also currently leading a pilot initiative surrounding the utilization of Medi-Cal funding to develop and support Community Health Worker/Promotoras/Representative Programs. 

Slides - available upon request

Recording (1:31:08)

 

Q & A: 

  1. Questions from Bureau Chief, "are any grants available to the cities for converting to fluoride additions to the public tap water and for ongoing maintenance? Any public education available about this topic? Is Howard Pollick available to counties to get his 1:1 help if they are mounting a campaign to get water fluoridation in a city?" Howard and his colleagues are available to assist communities in mounting a campaign. Email [email protected] to get connected to Howard, Marjorie, and Mark. 
  2. What is it exactly that goes into the water supplies to achieve the optimum levels? I was told it is a chemical and that's not good, didn't know how to answer. Thank you. I have heard your concern before about chemicals. Of course there are so many different kinds of chemicals. Table salt, sodium chloride, is a chemical. Sodium fluoride is a chemical that is used in fluoride toothpaste. There are three different fluoride additives that are used for water fluoridation, depending on the type of equipment that the water district uses. Each additive releases fluoride ions that are exactly the same as what there is in toothpaste. Another consideration to add: it is a form of a mineral.
  3. To fluoridate water systems, who foots the costs for implementing and maintaining fluoridation? What are initial start-up costs like and what is needed to maintain? First the community has to agree that they want fluoridation. Start-up costs should not be considered initially because they can seem unsurmountable. But when the community has agreed that CWF is the best option to address the oral health problems, then funding agencies can be approached.
  4. Have water systems with over 10,000 service connections that are not fluoridated been identified across California? Those systems were identified in the 1995 legislation. We are working on getting an update where there is population growth.
  5. Many of these fluoridation areas are in urban settings. It seems the Ag industry is a major opponent to fluoridation in rural and agricultural counties. What efforts have been done to address the industry's concerns? There are some counties where the water suffers from agricultural runoff and people don’t drink that water. We are not considering trying to fluoridate those contaminated water systems. Opposition to fluoridation comes from various entities. We may not be able to overcome opposition in all circumstances.
  6. Are there any studies about impact of fluoride on agriculture? Howard published some time ago on this topic: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1179/oeh.2004.10.3.343. Also available at https://americanfluoridationsociety.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/e-Water-Fluoridation-and-the-Environment-Pollick-Int-J-Env-Health-2004.pdf or https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1179/oeh.2004.10.3.343. (also available upon request)
  7. Can you share any updates on the pilots with the new fluoridation tablet system for smaller water systems? KC Industries that started the F tablet system have withdrawn their involvement due to lack of funding. The three pilots in other states ran into administrative and technical problems. There may be opportunities to adjust the tablet system in the future.
  8. Does the filter in our fridges filter out fluoride? Almost all refrigerator filters use carbon/charcoal or kinetic degradation fluxion, so they do not take out fluoride. Reverse osmosis filters do, but they are much more expensive.