Local DMD and Clark County Health Department Director Discusses Loyal Referendum Question Regarding Fluoride in City Water

Thursday, April 2nd, 2026 -- 11:00 AM

The City of Loyal will have a referendum question on next week’s April 7th election ballot.

The question will ask Loyal residents if the City should continue the practice of adding fluoride to the City’s water. I spoke with Dr. Maryann Forsell, DMD (Doctor of Medicine in Dentistry) with the Neillsville Dental Center, and she discussed the benefits of fluoride in water.

I also spoke with Brittany Mews, Director and Health Officer with the Clark County Health Department, and she provided the Health Department’s stance on the issue.

Listen to the interview with Dr. Forsell and Brittany here!

If you have any questions about this topic, you can ask your dentist or feel free to contact the Clark County Health Department (https://www.clarkcountywi.gov/community-water-fluoridation).

(AI assisted transcription via Otter.ai)

Brittany: "Voters in the city of Loyal will be asked the following question, 'Shall the City of Loyal continue the practice of fluoridation of city water?' A 'Yes' vote means that the elector is in favor of continuation of the fluoridation of the City's water."

"A 'No' vote means that the elector desires to stop the fluoridation of the City water. As public health professionals, we want residents to be aware of this upcoming vote and to know where they can find accurate, reliable information to make an informed decision."

"If you have questions about fluoride, oral health, or water quality, we encourage you to contact trusted sources, such as your local dentist, health departments or health care provider. These professionals can provide clear information to help answer your questions."

Riley: "And now Dr. Forsell, we've seen kind of a pushback against fluoride in city water, you know, around the country. This is definitely not something that's unique to the City of Loyal. Can you explain why fluoride is good for an individual's teeth?"

Dr. Forsell: "Essentially, what fluoride does is it repairs the outer surface of our teeth, so things that we eat and drink throughout the day, they weaken that outer surface, the enamel of our teeth."

"So, what we do when we're eating or drinking something that has fluoride, or when we're brushing our teeth, that fluoride is actually bonding to that outer surface of the teeth to re-strengthen it."

"So, in doing this, it's helping to prevent cavities from forming, and also can prevent some small early cavities from growing to the point that they would need a filling in the future."

Riley: "So then, can you talk a little bit about why cities then started adding fluoride to their water?"

Dr. Forsell: "Fluoride is naturally found in water systems or in our water supplies across the country, all over the world. In, like, the early 1900s, they noticed in certain areas that the kids, their adult teeth were coming in and they were really stained like this dark yellow color."

"Well, when they were looking into this, they also found out that these teeth were not getting cavities. So, in research, they found out that this was because they had really high levels of fluoride in those water supplies."

"So, they did some more research on it, found out that those areas were were getting way too much fluoride. But there was obviously a benefit, because they weren't getting cavities, and so, over time, they worked to kind of normalize the level to see at what level it's a benefit, which level it's maybe too much, or which level is not enough."

"In 1945 was the first time in Grand Rapids, Michigan, actually, that they regulated how much fluoride was in the water, so they put it right at that point, seven to 1.1 milligrams per milliliter and, 11 years later, they found that the rate of cavities in children dropped by 60%."

"So, because of that, it kind of caught on across the country and now we're to a point where, more than not, most counties, most cities, are fluoridating their water and seeing similar benefits."

Riley: " And so if, for example, if Loyal were to vote to remove the the fluoride from their City water. What could be some of the outcomes of that?"

Dr. Forsell: "So, the most obvious answer to that is that we're going to see more cavities. Unfortunately, in your in recent years, cities and states have decided to take fluoride out."

"Because of this, we've been able to see and collect data showing exactly to what extent the damage of taking fluoride out has on those communities. So, for example, there were two separate cities in Canada where fluoride was removed from the water supply, and both of those communities saw over a 50% increase in urgent dental needs within the five years after it was removed."

"Similarly, in Juneau, Alaska, the average cost of dental care for a child under six went up over $300 per year when the fluoride was removed. So, we're going to see a significant increase."

"Increase in the amount of cavities that are our patients are getting, which is also going to lead to, you know, kids having to miss school, people having to miss work because they're in tooth pain."

"And our biggest problem in Clark County, specifically, is we have 12 dentists, which, if you do the math, that comes down to about one dentist for every 3,000 residents. Typically, we like to see that number close to one per every 1500 residents."

"So, we're about double. To be frank, we just don't have the dentist necessary to see an increased rate of dental cavities in our communities. I'm sure most people in Clark County know that it's really hard to get an appointment with a dentist and that's going to be even worse, patients are going to notice."

"People are going to have to miss more work to travel farther for dental care. And I know, frankly, for me, I wouldn't want that. I wouldn't want it for my patients. So, really, it's just that we're trying to do what we can to work with what we have in the situation we do in our county right now."

Riley: "And you know, there has been false information and misinformation that has gotten out there that has led to this push that we're seeing to remove that fluoride. But I feel we should reiterate that there is no danger in having fluoride in in a city's water, correct?"

Dr. Forsell: "Correct, yeah, we have over 100 years of research on this. The CDC put marked this as one of the most important public health initiatives of the 1900s. It has years of research behind it."

"There's some articles that have come out recently that, in my opinion, are a little misleading. The biggest one that I've heard is about lower IQs in children. That research was looking at communities outside of the United States where fluoride levels are not regulated."

"Those fluoride levels in those communities were probably three to four times what they are here. So, obviously, just like with anything else, too much isn't a good thing."

"So, that's why it's really important their community, like water departments, are making sure that those levels are in that appropriate range, so that we don't see any side effects of over fluoridating."

Riley: "Anything else?"

Dr. Forsell: "I think the biggest thing I would add, and Brittany mentioned earlier, is, if you have questions, ask your dentist. We go to four years of undergrad. We go to four years of dental school. We have the educational background to have these conversations with you."

"Yes, you can find a lot of stuff online, but the problem with that is you can find anything online, so it's better to go to somebody you trust who has an educational background in what you're looking for."

Feel free to contact us with questions and/or comments.