Fluoride Fiasco: The Controversial Journey from Public Health Hero to Villain

From communist plots to bad teeth, one of our writers covers the history of water fluoridation

Ella Saint
12th January 2025
Image Credit: WikimediaCommons, Ishwah Murthi https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Tap_water.jpg
Adding fluoride to public drinking water has been a standard practice in certain countries for a while now, to improve dental health. However, this practice has also sparked significant controversy with debates that blend science, politics, and public trust.

Fluoride is a natural mineral often found in rocks and soil. It helps reverse early tooth decay and remineralizes tooth enamel.

According to the National Cancer Institute, scientists in the 1940s found that people who lived where drinking water had fluoride levels of "approximately 1 part fluoride per million parts water" had fewer dental cavities than those who lived with lower fluoride levels.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) argues that water fluoridation was one of the biggest triumphs in public health in the 20th century. So, why was it so controversial?

Water fluoridation, for some, came to symbolize a communist threat in the 1950s as a plot to undermine American public health. This conspiracy theory has since been undermined and over-ruled.

Today, the significant allegations aimed at water fluoridation are that it increases the risk of bone fracture and bone cancer and may interfere with thyroid function. However, only tenuous evidence suggests a link between the two.

The only genuine concern associated with water fluoridation is that it may cause fluorosis of the teeth. But, as the UK Parliament website states, the cosmetic appearance of dental fluorosis is easily treated. Dental fluorosis can be treated by tooth whitening, cosmetic bonding, or crowns and veneers depending on the severity.

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