Q. I saw another anti-fluoride letter to the editor the other day. Is the stuff she writes in the letter correct? If fluoride is so horrible why do so many cities add it to their water?

A. I get this question from patients all the time. The answer is pretty simple. Fluoride at one part per million is very beneficial to dental health. All water contains fluoride. It is a natural part of all water. The amount of fluoride varies and numerous studies over the past 60 years demonstrate that 1 ppm is optimal for dental health. Cities across the country – about 2/3 of the United States – have been optimizing fluoride levels for many years. Studies done of populations of people in optimal fluoride cities compared to less that optimal demonstrate improved dental health with no increase in cancers or other diseases.

The anti-fluoride movement exists to make money for the people who run the organizations. It is fear based and based on non-science. Unfortunately, for the people of Fort Smith, our newspaper is anti-fluoride and only promotes the agenda. Sixty years of experience and hundreds of scientific studies demonstrate the safety and efficacy of fluoride. It is the natural state of water.

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[Note: the bold is our emphasis]

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