BUFFALO, N.Y. — You won’t be able to taste it, but starting Tuesday, there will be a new ingredient in Buffalo’s water.
“This is a major milestone for us,” said Oluwole "OJ" McFoy, the chairman of the Buffalo Water Board.
Fluoride was, unbeknownst to many, removed from the water supply nine years ago due to what water authority officials called “ongoing capital improvements.”
Over the next two weeks or so, it’ll slowly make its way back through people’s pipes.
“The effects will be seen with time," said Marcelo Araujo, the dean of the UB School of Dental Medicine. "But I know immediate additions to fluoride into the water will start preventing future tooth decay.”
It's a joy for dentists in the area, who saw upticks in tooth issues over the past years.
“Tooth decay is one of the top five non-communicable diseases in the world. It is the number one reason why kids don't go to school,” Araujo explained.
A tanker rolled in Monday with the first supply of liquid fluoride, replacing the previous powdered system.
But the story doesn’t end here.
“The reality is that no amount of fluoride today is going to make up for the decade of fluoride that people missed out on,” said Robert Corp, a junior partner at Lipsitz Green Scime Cambria, LLP, who is representing nine families so far in this matter.
Corp is bringing a class-action lawsuit seeking damages upwards of $200 million on behalf of city residents. A spokesperson for the city said they do not comment on pending litigation.
“I have no reason to believe that without the reporting and the local media that uncovered the reality that there was no fluoride in the water, and without the courageous conduct of my clients and coming forward and pressing their hand through this lawsuit, that the city would have ever done anything,” he said.
It doesn't end at monetary damages though.
“In tandem with resuming the fluoride, [...] we envision the creation of free dental clinics throughout the city for folks who have had their dental health negatively impacted," Corp added.
He questions the city’s timeline and why they couldn’t keep the old system going as the new one was put in.
"Doing their due diligence," was the phrase repeated Monday morning by city officials.
“We will vigorously and aggressively defend every decision that we've made here, because we know that we are on the side of public health," said McFoy.
“So there's no regrets with taking this long to make sure you had all your I's [dotted], T's crossed,” asked Spectrum News Buffalo.
“No. In fact, we are 100% confident that it's safe,” said Peter Marlow, the principal engineer for the city of Buffalo.
Experts recommend checking with your dentist to see in any fluoride supplementation will still be needed.
“We have to make sure that everybody is exposed to fluoride at the right level, especially when they are having the change in their teeth," said Araujo. "Hopefully we will have a very low prevalence of tooth decay in our city.”
Fluoride levels will start at 2 parts per million and ramp up to the recommended 7 ppm over the next month or two.