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submitted 5 months ago by MicroWave@lemmy.world to c/news@lemmy.world

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%.

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[-] baru@lemmy.world 11 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago)

Apparently the Netherlands stopped adding fluoride to the drinking water decades ago (due to idiots). It is in toothpaste. Which then gets into the sewer which then gets into the drinking water.

Dutch article: https://www.drinkwaterplatform.nl/fluoride-in-drinkwater-alle-vragen-en-antwoorden/

[-] john89@lemmy.ca 10 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago)

All I can say is, drinking fluoridated water isn't going to make a significant impact on your dental health if you don't brush and use mouthwash.

You'll never go to the dentist and have him say "you need to drink more fluoridated water."

[-] Habahnow@sh.itjust.works 10 points 5 months ago

Except the article, that you are currently commenting on, indicates the exact opposite. Flouridated water decreases the chances of cavities as noted by communities studied, some without flouridated water and others with it.

[-] solsangraal@lemmy.world 9 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago)

it SHOULD be up to the individual whether they want fluoride in the water they're drinking. this is not like vaccines, where unvaccinated people are a risk to everyone around them.

edit: adding this https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/magazine/magazine_article/fluoridated-drinking-water/

and key takeaway: The Cochrane report also concluded that early scientific investigations on water fluoridation (most were conducted before 1975) were deeply flawed. “We had concerns about the methods used, or the reporting of the results, in … 97 percent of the studies,” the authors noted. One problem: The early studies didn’t take into account the subsequent widespread use of fluoride-containing toothpastes and other dental fluoride supplements, which also prevent cavities. This may explain why countries that do not fluoridate their water have also seen big drops in cavity rates (see chart).

[-] Fedizen@lemmy.world 11 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago)

I think a criticism of not fluoridating the water and only buying supplements is its going to favor wealthy people on average and amounts to essentially class warfare.

Imo it makes more sense to fluoridate the water and let rich people buy expensive filters to satisfy their feelings about fluoride. (I'd argue water filter peddlers maybe oversell the dangers of fluoridated water)

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[-] NeptuneOrbit@lemmy.world 7 points 5 months ago

Medical freedom? Can't people use bottled or just move to a town with naturally high fluoride?

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[-] KillingTimeItself@lemmy.dbzer0.com 7 points 5 months ago

i'm still just curious whether that "science" saying that "fluoride bad" is real or not.

Or if fluoride is actually just bad.

Until then i'm not doing anything because politics is probably going to kill me first anyway. No point in making a decision if you aren't familiar with it i suppose.

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[-] Emerald@lemmy.world 7 points 5 months ago

What is the big freakout about fluoride water lately? Haven't we been doing that for decades?

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[-] problematicPanther@lemmy.world 7 points 5 months ago

I can no longer sit back and allow Communist infiltration, Communist indoctrination, Communist subversion and the international Communist conspiracy to sap and impurify all of our precious bodily fluids.

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this post was submitted on 08 May 2024
355 points (100.0% liked)

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