You got downvoted hard but you’re not actually wrong. Fluoride in toothpaste is plenty to prevent tooth issues.
The issue in the US is that the large wealth inequality and poor education makes it so that a substantial number don’t brush sufficiently. So fluoride in drinking water does help a bit.
In the Netherlands, we stopped doing it decades ago because the health benefit wasn’t really measurable anymore. And there are some non-zero health risks to adding fluoride as well, particularly if too much is added (which despite many measures does occasionally happen).
Outside of the Anglosphere adding fluoride is actually quite uncommon. Initially I had this kneejerk reaction too of thinking this was DeSantis just being his usual stupid self, but apparently it’s not even such a crazy idea. It does remain to be seen whether personal dental hygiene is good enough in the US.
You got downvoted hard but you’re not actually wrong.
I’ve noticed several issues like this which are prominent on both the right and the left, where the consensus is obviously wrong, but it’s framed as such a deeply partisan issue that too many people refuse to even consider it, and everyone involved looks like ideological zealots for it.
You got downvoted hard but you’re not actually wrong. Fluoride in toothpaste is plenty to prevent tooth issues.
The issue in the US is that the large wealth inequality and poor education makes it so that a substantial number don’t brush sufficiently. So fluoride in drinking water does help a bit.
In the Netherlands, we stopped doing it decades ago because the health benefit wasn’t really measurable anymore. And there are some non-zero health risks to adding fluoride as well, particularly if too much is added (which despite many measures does occasionally happen).
Outside of the Anglosphere adding fluoride is actually quite uncommon. Initially I had this kneejerk reaction too of thinking this was DeSantis just being his usual stupid self, but apparently it’s not even such a crazy idea. It does remain to be seen whether personal dental hygiene is good enough in the US.
I’ve noticed several issues like this which are prominent on both the right and the left, where the consensus is obviously wrong, but it’s framed as such a deeply partisan issue that too many people refuse to even consider it, and everyone involved looks like ideological zealots for it.