Fighting against fluoride

A growing number of communities are ending water fluoridation. Will public health suffer?

A child drinking out of a water fountain
'Fluoride is the perfect example of helping people without them even having to do anything'
(Image credit: AP)

Why do we add fluoride to water?

Because it helps keep teeth strong, replacing minerals that are lost during regular wear and tear. Grand Rapids, Mich., became the first city in the world to add fluoride to its public water in 1945; within 11 years, the amount of tooth damage from decay among the city's children had dropped by 60 percent. About 72 percent of Americans served by public water systems now drink fluoridated water, and the process is estimated to save about $6.5 billion in dental costs annually. "Fluoride is the perfect example of helping people without them even having to do anything," said Dr. Sreenivas Koka, former dean of the University of Mississippi Medical Center's school of dentistry. But an anti-fluoride movement has been gaining steam in recent years, with more than 170 communities across the U.S. rejecting fluoridated water since 2010 over health fears. In Florida alone, at least 24 cities and counties have ended fluoridation since September. Last week, Utah became the first state to ban the addition of the mineral to public water, with Republican Gov. Spencer Cox claiming there isn't sufficient evidence "to require people to be medicated by their government."

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