Opinion: Magical thinking about a miracle mineral
… At the beginning of the 20th century, Frederick McKay, a young dentist in Colorado Springs, noticed that his patients’ teeth showed unsightly browning — now known as fluorosis, a consequence of exposure to too much fluoride. At the same time, those patients’ teeth were far more resistant to dental decay than those of people in nearby towns, whose teeth looked better. … As for natural contamination of the kind that Colorado Springs experienced, it’s estimated that more than 100,000 people in the United States get their water from wells with naturally excessive fluoride levels. You’d think that the folks calling to end fluoridation would also be unveiling a comprehensive plan to help people make sure their private water sources are safe. Yet Kennedy has not done so. Why not? A better question might be why now? Why the sudden urge to talk about fluoride? I think the answer may lie somewhere quite far afield. In Texas, actually.
-Written by Zeynep Tufekci, a professor of sociology and public affairs at Princeton University and a New York Times Opinion columnist.Other fluoride news:
