Supporting Community Water Fluoridation

The BHT Board approved for BHT staff to advocate for community water fluoridation via councilmanic action and approved an allocation of up to $650,000 from our Regional Infrastructure dollars to support the implementation once approved.

We can not achieve our vision of quality whole-person care without including oral health. Supporting oral health has been a longstanding activity for BHT. We began with DENT—which we ran in partnership with Providence, Empire Health Foundation, and the ARCORA foundation—to reduce ED utilization from dental emergencies by building a network of Medicaid accepting dentists. As we embarked on Medicaid Transformation, in addition to our four project areas, the BHT Board named oral health as one of four BHT priority areas. Lastly, BHT was an early supporter of the Smile Spokane Network and now serves as the network manager. 

What all these activities have in common is a deep commitment to oral health and eliminating health inequities. Our community faces significant oral health challenges that disproportionately affect people with low incomes, people of color, people with disabilities, young children, and older adults. Furthermore, the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated conditions for our most vulnerable populations. We believe that community water fluoridation will play a pivotal role in closing the dental inequities between wealthy and low-income residents. 

Our city must take all steps to improve oral health and overall health in our community during this pandemic. The 70 years of science and research tell us that providing community water fluoridation is a good public policy and will support this community's health and vitality for generations to come. For the health of all our citizens, we urge our elected leaders to support community water fluoridation in Spokane.

Sign this letter to support community water fluoridation in Spokane.