Misinformation campaigns increasingly target the cavity-fighting mineral, prompting communities to reverse mandates. Dentists are enraged. Parents are caught in the middle.

Misinformation campaigns increasingly target the cavity-fighting mineral, prompting communities to reverse mandates. Dentists are enraged. Parents are caught in the middle.

The culture wars have a new target: your teeth.

Communities across the U.S. are ending public water fluoridation programs, often spurred by groups that insist that people should decide whether they want the mineral — long proven to fight cavities — added to their water supplies.

The push to flush it from water systems seems to be increasingly fueled by pandemic-related mistrust of government oversteps and misleading claims, experts say, that fluoride is harmful.

“The anti-fluoridation movement gained steam with Covid,” said Dr. Meg Lochary, a pediatric dentist in Union County, North Carolina. “We’ve seen an increase of people who either don’t want fluoride or are skeptical about it.”

There should be no question about the dental benefits of fluoride, Lochary and other experts say. Major public health groups, including the American Dental Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, support the use of fluoridated water. All cite studies that show it reduces tooth decay by 25%.

  • Flying Squid
    65•8 months ago

    Again, there are places where fluoride occurs naturally in drinking water at higher concentrations than it is added artificially and there don’t seem to be significant health problems.

    • @[email protected]
      -1•7 months ago

      Hmmmmm no ! I’m not against fluoride in water, I don’t care since I don’t live in north america but spreading disinformation does not help.

      There is regions, especially in India, where fluoride occurs by naturally in water in high concentration which is causing multiple serious health issues.

      Neurology of endemic skeletal fluorosis

      • @[email protected]
        8•7 months ago

        “There are higher concentrations of fluoride in water than we usually put in it that is still healthy to drink” != “Any concentration of fluoride in water is safe”

        Any substance becomes toxic if you ingest too much of it. If you exceed by a factor of 20 the amount of plenty of things people usually consume, it isn’t difficult to find things that are dangerous or even lethal. Say, coffee, beer, anti-inflammatories, chocolate, Coke.

      • Flying Squid
        4•7 months ago

        Cool. I said higher concentrations that are added artificially, not extremely high concentration.

        • @[email protected]
          2•7 months ago

          there are places where fluoride occurs naturally in drinking water at higher concentrations than it is added artificially and there don’t seem to be significant health problems.

          I’m simply replying that there is places where fluoride occurs naturally in drinking water at higher concentration that it is added artificially and there is significant health problems in these places.

          Does it means that fluoride in low concentration like in the US water system is dangerous ? No, it just means that very high concentration can be dangerous.

          • Flying Squid
            3•7 months ago

            I was talking about concentrations in the U.S. I think that should have been obvious.