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Medical freedom vs. public health: Should fluoride be in our drinking water? (www.nbcnews.com)

submitted 7 months ago by MicroWave@lemmy.world to c/news@lemmy.world

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Misinformation campaigns increasingly target the cavity-fighting mineral, prompting communities to reverse mandates. Dentists are enraged. Parents are caught in the middle.

The culture wars have a new target: your teeth.

Communities across the U.S. are ending public water fluoridation programs, often spurred by groups that insist that people should decide whether they want the mineral — long proven to fight cavities — added to their water supplies.

The push to flush it from water systems seems to be increasingly fueled by pandemic-related mistrust of government oversteps and misleading claims, experts say, that fluoride is harmful.

“The anti-fluoridation movement gained steam with Covid,” said Dr. Meg Lochary, a pediatric dentist in Union County, North Carolina. “We’ve seen an increase of people who either don’t want fluoride or are skeptical about it.”

There should be no question about the dental benefits of fluoride, Lochary and other experts say. Major public health groups, including the American Dental Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, support the use of fluoridated water. All cite studies that show it reduces tooth decay by 25%.

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[-] ryan213@lemmy.ca 7 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago)

I'm glad people are finally taking a stand against Big Dental conglomerates. Wake up, people! Take charge of your own teeth!!

Edit: Sigh. I think I'll just add "/s" to my username.

[-] padjakkels@lemmy.world 7 points 7 months ago

So what it the disadvantage of fluride in the water? Please tell me.

[-] KillerTofu@lemmy.world 6 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago)

Well, the fluoride calcifies in your pineal gland. It shows up on brain scans and if it is not centered can help indicate or diagnose brain tumors. Some also say that the calcification closes your third eye and prevents you from communing with the ether.

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[-] ryan213@lemmy.ca 6 points 7 months ago

I thought it'd be obvious that it was sarcasm given how preposterous my comment was. Come on..."Big Dental!" LOL

[-] padjakkels@lemmy.world 5 points 7 months ago

haha you got me!!

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[-] thefartographer@lemm.ee 6 points 7 months ago

Get the fuck back up in my mouth, teeth!

They're not listening! What do I do??

[-] FancyPantsFIRE@lemm.ee 5 points 7 months ago

Poe’s law has only gotten more true over the last couple of decades.

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[-] afraid_of_zombies@lemmy.world 7 points 7 months ago

Just let the fuckers teeth fall out already. I am tired of so much effort being spent on people who clearly want to die. It is everything, from seatbelts to motorcycle helmets to vaccines to transfats to HFC drinks. They want to die? Let them. Maybe darwinism will save us from them maybe it won't but at least we can all stop hearing about it.

[-] pymn@lemmy.blahaj.zone 7 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago)

A slicht problem with this approach is that for vaccines to be effective for anyone almost everybody has to be vaccinated…

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[-] FlyingSquid@lemmy.world 6 points 7 months ago

I'm pretty sure people criticized Republicans when they cheered on the whole "let them die" thing...

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[-] Emerald@lemmy.world 7 points 7 months ago

What is the big freakout about fluoride water lately? Haven't we been doing that for decades?

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[-] KillingTimeItself@lemmy.dbzer0.com 6 points 7 months ago

i'm still just curious whether that "science" saying that "fluoride bad" is real or not.

Or if fluoride is actually just bad.

Until then i'm not doing anything because politics is probably going to kill me first anyway. No point in making a decision if you aren't familiar with it i suppose.

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[-] problematicPanther@lemmy.world 5 points 7 months ago

I can no longer sit back and allow Communist infiltration, Communist indoctrination, Communist subversion and the international Communist conspiracy to sap and impurify all of our precious bodily fluids.

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[-] will_a113@lemmy.ml 5 points 7 months ago

I’d say that this is the kind of thing we elect leaders to decide and implement for us, but my leaders are a bunch of fucking morons.

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this post was submitted on 08 May 2024

343 points (95.3% liked)

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