RFK Jr.’s fluoride ban would ruin 25 million kids’ teeth, cost $9.8 billion

It's saddening to see them penetrate their way into lemmy 😔

First off, RFK is a nutcase.

But this isn't such a weird thing to do. The majority of the (western) world does not add fluoride to the drinking water. Many countries used to, but have since stopped. These days it's mostly an anglosphere thing.

The concern that the ingestion of fluoride over long periods of time (a substance that accumulates in the body) can have adverse effects is actually supported by scientific evidence. Adding it to toothpaste is also supported to be just as good at protecting your teeth (if not better). Having it both in toothpaste ánd in the drinking water is effectively useless.

Because of the involved medical risk, and the lack of medical benefits in light of people brushing with toothpaste with fluoride in it, it's really not a crazy idea to remove it. Added benefit is that it improves the taste of the water too (imo).

Don't get me wrong, my gut reaction was to think this is stupid too. But then I checked if we do it here (Netherlands) and found out we stopped, for the reasons outlined above. And that's the RIVM talking, a very respected, apolitical government institute concerned with public health. The science genuinely supports the removal of fluoride from the water supply.

Btw, the US has a maximum norm of fluoride in the water, but quality control is so poor that in many places those levels are exceeded considerably. That's an issue in and of itself.

Of course, RFK should make sure that all toothpaste has fluoride in it, and that it's cheap enough so that everyone can afford it. He probably won't, so he's still stupid.

But a broken clock...