KENNEBUNK — To fluoridate or not to fluoridate? That, in Kennebunk, is the question.

Norm Labbe, superintendent of the Kennebunk, Kennebunkport and Wells Water District, recalls that fluoride ”“ an element largely credited with the prevention of tooth decay ”“ was added to the water supply of those towns in 2003, following the wishes of area voters, who approved the measure the previous autumn.

But a group of citizens is now expressing concern about the health effects of fluoridated water, and is making a push to have an referendum placed on November’s ballot, asking residents if they would like to see the compound removed from the water supply of the seven towns that are serviced by the KKWWD. Kennebunk, Kennebunkport, Wells, Ogunquit, Arundel, and select areas of Biddeford and York are serviced by the district, and according to Labbe, four of those seven towns would need to approve the referendum before it is placed on the ballot in those communities.

The effort to remove fluoride is being led by Kennebunk resident Jan Hanson, who spoke to Kennebunk selectmen Tuesday night about what she believes are the deleterious health effects of adding the compound to the water supply.

“We are concerned about the health of our children and our elderly,” said Hanson, who described fluoride as a neurotoxin. “It is being administered to us as an unregulated drug.”

Hanson, whose mother suffered from tooth decay late in her life due to what she believes was an excess of unnecessary fluoride in her water, cites information provided by the Fluoride Action Network indicating a number of different health risks. A document made available online by the organization claims that the benefit of fluoride is topical, not systemic, and that an overabundance of it may damage the brain, affect thyroid functions, exacerbate arthritic symptoms and cause bone damage in the elderly, along with other maladies.

Resident Joseph Kenneally, a dentist who operates a practice in Biddeford, disputed those findings as “pseudoscience, which can be quite convincing if you don’t know how the scientific method works” at Tuesday’s meeting.

A former president of the Maine Dental Association and vice president of the American Dental Association, Kenneally notes that the Centers for Disease Control supports the fluoridation of water, and that studies from the World Health Organization and the ADA bolster the argument that it’s beneficial to the prevention of tooth decay.

Information provided by the ADA states that, in 2010, almost 74 percent of the U.S. population serviced by public water systems received fluoridated water, an increase of about 9 percent from 2000.

“Studies show that community water fluoridation prevents at least 25 percent of tooth decay in children and adults, even in an era with widespread availability of fluoride from other sources, such as fluoride toothpaste,” according to the ADA website.

In the early to mid-1980s, Kenneally led a campaign to introduce fluoride to the water supply in Biddeford and Saco; he said that since then, he has seen an overall decrease in instances of tooth decay among his patients.

“I used to see children come in with a huge amount of decay,” he said. “The benefits over the past 10-15 years are evident.”

Kenneally said that there has been a slight uptick in instances of tooth decay in recent years, but credits this to the prevalence of unfluoridated bottled water, and sports drinks that contain a high amount of sugar.

Kenneally said he hopes the public isn’t swayed by what he calls “misinformation” propagated by the Fluoride Action Network.

“Unfortunately, they’re all over the Internet,” he said. “And that’s the downside of the Internet: Just because it’s on there, doesn’t mean it’s true.”

Still, Hanson’s efforts to reintroduce the issue to voters is being backed by the KKWWD ”“ which, while not actively involved in a campaign to stop water fluoridation, has officially taken the stance that it would rather see the element removed from communities’ water supplies.

To stop fluoridation would be a simple matter of flicking a switch, said Labbe, noting that it would be easier to remove the compound than it was to add it. It would also remove about $20,000 from the KKWWD’s annual operating costs, although he stressed that cost is not the primary motivation for the water district’s support of Hanson’s campaign.

“Our primary concerns are the health of our customers and our employees,” said Labbe. “Enough information has come out in the past several years … that add enough doubt to the issue.”

Currently, the water district adds alkali to the water to offset the acidity of the fluoride, said Labbe. If fluoride is no longer introduced to the supply, the district would simply scale back the amount of alkali to account for the new acidity levels.

“It’s very easy to do,” he said.

Convening at a special meeting on Tuesday, July 22, Kennebunk selectmen will hold a public hearing on the issue, at which point they are expected to decide on whether they support a ballot initiative.

— Staff Writer Jeff Lagasse can be contacted at 282-1535, ext. 319 or jlagasse@journaltribune.com.