Southland
Water Agency
Adds Teeth Whitener
to Drinking Water
Southern
California's trademark white smile is about to get even brighter.
With the help of water agencies, all citizens are now bound to have
whiter teeth. Some cynics say they're happy with their teeth 'just
as they are.'
by George Wolfe
LOS ANGELES — Baking soda will be added to the drinking water
of millions of Southern Californians in a whitening effort sponsored
by a state political action committee composed of dentists and hygenists.
If all goes according to plan, the water supply will be treated
by 2004.
Building upon the recent decision to add cavity-fighting
flouride to the water supply, the PAC known as "Miles of Smiles"
is lobbying hard to make the Los Angeles metropolitan area "the
region with the best smiles on earth — not only healthy, but
also handsome" according to the PAC's mission statement.
"If I want to have cruddy teeth, isn't that
my birthright? Where do they get off telling me how bright my teeth
should be?"
— Susan Rutlidge, Brentwood resident
The legislation was praised by beauticians
throughout the region as a major step in protecting the public against
dingy teeth. But members of the Metropolitan Water District complained
that indirectly bleaching everyone's teeth puts them in the business
of beautification.
Susan Rutlidge, a resident of Orange County, decries
what she sees as "the creeping fascism of beauty. If I want
to have cruddy teeth, isn't that my birthright? Where do they get
off telling me how bright my teeth should be?"
ther Southland residents lauded the group's efforts.
Cindy Jenkins, from Pasadena, admitted that, "Frankly, it's
sometimes awkward for me to speak to people who have less-than-white
teeth. I can't look at their teeth, and that makes it hard to look
them in the eye, too. I don't see why anyone's complaining —
after all, it's free!"
If the legislation passes, as most people
expect, Miles of Smiles is preparing to make a push on two more
initiatives: Prop 244 would make braces mandatory for kids who need
them; Prop 266 would levy prohibitive taxes on coffee to discourage
imports of popular drink that can also stain teeth.
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