Water Fluoridation Essay

From the very beginning of water fluoridation in 1945, there has always been controversy. As of July 1, 2011 water fluoridation ended in Fairbanks. Fluoridating water supplies are an outdated, unnecessary, and dangerous relic from the 1940s. Communities that continue to fluoridate their water supply should stop doing so. The purpose of this essay is to inform you of the history of fluoride, some of the reasons to oppose fluoridating water, and to explain the process Fairbanks went through to terminate fluoridation.

Fluoride research began in 1901 by a man named Frederick McKay; it wasn’t until 1945 when water fluoridation began. The history of water fluoridation can be separated into three periods. From 1901-1933, McKay researched into the cause of a form of mottles tooth enamel and, in severe cases, brown stains, called “Colorado Brown Stain,” on their permanent teeth. McKay also noticed that the mottled teeth were resistant to decay. By the 1930s it had been determined that these conditions were caused by a high concentration of fluoride (4-14 ppm) in drinking water, this condition is called fluorosis. From 1933-1945, the relationship among fluoride concentrations, fluorosis, and tooth decay were focused on. Dr. H. Trendley Dean, who assisted McKay on his research, conducted a series of public health studies and reported that fluoride concentrations of up to 1.0 ppm in drinking water did not cause the more severe forms of fluorosis and that a connection existed between fluoride levels in drinking water and a reduced level of decay. From 1945 on, water fluoridation began and continued to be the main focus. Four community wide studies were carried out to evaluate the addition of fluoride in Grand Rapids, MI; Newburgh, NY; Brantf...

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... of the FNSB government, (3) local dentist and physicians should be encouraged to provide their patients with up to date information on the benefits and risks, and (4) the local school system should be encourage to review and modify as appropriate. On April 5, 2011, the FFTF made a final decision to remove fluoride from Fairbanks’ public water supplies.

From the very beginning of water fluoridation in 1945, there had always been controversy. As of July 1, 2011 water fluoridation ended in Fairbanks. The purpose of this essay was to inform you of the history of fluoride, some of the reasons to oppose fluoridating water, and to explain the process Fairbanks went through to terminate fluoridation. Fluoridating water supplies are an outdated, unnecessary, and dangerous relic from the 1940s. Communities that continue to fluoridate their water supply should stop doing so.