This was the response from the water treatment plant operator in my town:
Well, the confidence level in this particular study wasn't very high, and it certainly is not cause for alarm for residents of XXXXX. The study examined areas where the fluoride was naturally occurring at levels >1.5 mg/L. Groundwater from the Rocky Mountains in Colorado is one place this happens, for example. As required by law, we dose to a target level of 0.8 mg/L, well below that limit. However, fluoride is a reactive element, in the same group on the periodic table as Chlorine, so health effects related to high concentrations would be expected. It is also a case of the government deciding what is good for everyone and then enforcing that policy. Personally, I feel that the "sword" should be reserved primarily for behavior that harms others, not oneself. I wouldn't be surprised to see the fluoridation requirement go away in the medium future. There are many other ways to protect one's enamel than there were in 1945 when this policy was enacted.
This was the response from the water treatment plant operator in my town:
Well, the confidence level in this particular study wasn't very high, and it certainly is not cause for alarm for residents of XXXXX. The study examined areas where the fluoride was naturally occurring at levels >1.5 mg/L. Groundwater from the Rocky Mountains in Colorado is one place this happens, for example. As required by law, we dose to a target level of 0.8 mg/L, well below that limit. However, fluoride is a reactive element, in the same group on the periodic table as Chlorine, so health effects related to high concentrations would be expected. It is also a case of the government deciding what is good for everyone and then enforcing that policy. Personally, I feel that the "sword" should be reserved primarily for behavior that harms others, not oneself. I wouldn't be surprised to see the fluoridation requirement go away in the medium future. There are many other ways to protect one's enamel than there were in 1945 when this policy was enacted.