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%.


“Drinking fluoridated water keeps teeth strong and reduces cavities,” the CDC said in a statement to NBC News.


Still, the resistance to fluoride has been building for decades. More recently, the sticking point is about control.


It wasn’t “whether fluoride was good or bad,” said Brian Helms, a Union County commissioner who voted against adding fluoride to the local water supply in February. “The real deciding factor for my vote was a matter of consent.”


He and others were swayed by people like Abigail Prado, the chair of a right-wing group called Moms For Liberty, who questioned the addition of fluoride in public water systems at Union County hearings on the issue.Read more visit here: https://aiapkpro.com/medical-freedom-vs-public-health-should-fluoride-be-in-our-drinking-water/