Grand Rapids Sculpture Celebrates Water Fluoridation
Jerry Mastey
"Steel Water," a 33-foot sculpture on the banks of the Grand River in Grand Rapids, commemorates the city's pioneering role when it became the first city in the world to add fluoride to its water supply in 1945.
The benefits water fluoridation has had on the oral health of millions of people in Michigan, the U.S., and the world was celebrated last fall when a new 33-foot tall sculpture, "Steel Water," was dedicated in downtown Grand Rapids.
In January 1945, Grand Rapids became the first community in the world to add fluoride to its water supply to help reduce tooth decay and tooth loss.
Years before that, however, fluoride's benefits were cited in research conducted by the U-M School of Dentistry's Dr. Philip Jay, a pioneer who devoted his life's work to the cause and prevention of dental caries. Because of his work and its impact on the public and the oral health care profession, Dr. Jay was one of 18 alumni and faculty members posthumously inducted into the School of Dentistry's Hall of Honor in the fall of 2003.
Among those attending ceremonies celebrating the dedication of the sculpture were Grand Rapids Mayor George Heartwell; Dr. Amy DeYoung, president, West Michigan District Dental Society; Dr. Thomas Harmon, president, West Michigan Dental Foundation; Dr. James Wieland, chair, Fluoride Commemorative Committee; U.S. Congressman Vern Ehlers; and Cyril Lixenberg, a sculptor from Amsterdam who was commissioned to design and build "Steel Water."
