Is it just us, or does it seem like every other week there’s a new headline about some state or town banning water fluoridation? As it turns out, this has been going on for decades, basically since fluoride was first introduced. Why are some people opposed to fluoride? Is there any basis to their fears? What does fluoride actually do? And how the heck did we find out about it? This week and next, we’re deep diving into our first dental discussion about this revolutionary mineral. In the first of these episodes, we explore the origins of fluoridation and the outcry against it – how did tuberculosis, a gold rush town, and a dentist with an insatiable curiosity set the stage for one of the greatest public health achievements of the 20th century? And why has there been pushback against it since its inception? Tune in to find out.
| History |
| McNeil, Donald R. “The Fight for Fluoridation.” (1957). |
| Murray, John J. Fluorides in caries prevention. 1976. |
| American Dental Association. Fluoridation facts. American Dental Association, 2018. |
| J. Crichton-Brown. “An address on tooth culture.” Lancet 2 (1892): 6-9. |
| Carstairs, Catherine, and Rachel Elder. “Expertise, health, and popular opinion: Debating water fluoridation, 1945–80.” Canadian Historical Review 89.3 (2008): 345-371. |
| Carstairs, Catherine. “Debating water fluoridation before Dr. Strangelove.” American journal of public health 105.8 (2015): 1559-1569. |
| Caselitz, Peter. “Caries—ancient plague of humankind.” Dental anthropology: fundamentals, limits and prospects. Vienna: Springer Vienna, 1998. 203-226. |
| Corbin, Stephen B. “Fluoridation then and now.” American Journal of Public Health 79.5 (1989): 561-563. |
| Dean, H. Trendley, and Frederick S. McKay. “Production of mottled enamel halted by a change in common water supply.” American Journal of Public Health and the Nations Health 29.6 (1939): 590-596. |
| Ismail, Amid I., Hana Hasson, and Woosung Sohn. “Dental caries in the second millennium.” Journal of dental education 65.10 (2001): 953-959. |
| Kargul, Betul, Esber Caglar, and Ilknur Tanboga. “History of water fluoridation.” Journal of clinical pediatric dentistry 27.3 (2003): 213-217. |
| Knutson, John W. “Water fluoridation after 25 years.” The Journal of the American Dental Association 80.4 (1970): 765-769. |
| Lanfranco, Luis Pezo, and Sabine Eggers. Caries through time: an anthropological overview. Rijeka, Croatia: INTECH Open Access Publisher, 2012. |
| Lotto, Matheus, et al. “Analysis of fluoride-free content on Twitter: topic modeling study.” Journal of Medical Internet Research 25 (2023): e44586. |
| McKay, Frederick S. “An investigation of mottled teeth.” Schneider S: Public Health: The Development of a Discipline 2 (2008): 123. |
| McKay, Frederick S. “The study of mottled enamel (dental fluorosis).” The Journal of the American Dental Association 44.2 (1952): 133-137. |
| McKay, F. S., and G. V. Black. “Mottled teeth.” Dental Cosmos 58 (1916): I29. |
| McNeil, Donald R. “America’s Longest War: The Fight over Fluoridation, 1950–.” The Wilson Quarterly (1976-) 9.3 (1985): 140-153. |
| Mullen, Joe. “History of water fluoridation.” British Dental Journal 199.7 (2005): 1-4. |
| Newbrun, Ernest. “Effectiveness of water fluoridation.” Journal of Public Health Dentistry 49.5 (1989): 279-289. |
| Ripa, Louis W. “A half‐century of community water fluoridation in the United States: review and commentary.” Journal of Public Health Dentistry 53.1 (1993): 17-44. |
| Smith, F. C. “Mottled enamel and brown stain: A condition affecting the teeth in certain localities.” Public Health Reports (1896-1970) (1916): 2915-2918. |
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3 thoughts on “Ep 178 Fluoride 1: The real tooth fairy”
I will hype up fluoride! I’ll be your hype (wo)man! Im a RD and I work in rural missouri. I am so pro-fluoride!
Also, absolutely amazing podcast. You guys are incredible!
Signed Kristen Howard MS, RD, LD
this article is very useful, thank you for making a good article
Thank you so much for your thorough review of fluoride! Have there been any investigated cases and/or retractions against scientists studying fluoride for research misconduct? With all of this misinformation, I feel like there must be something! Thank you!
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