I was admitted as a graduate student in the quantitative psychology doctoral program at University of Virginia starting fall 2011. My family currently is living in Oregon. In Oregon, we value clean drinking water.
In Charlottesville, drinking water is fluoridated on the theory that fluoride promotes stronger teeth. The research backing this conjecture is, however, lacking. Europeans mostly drink un-fluoridated water.
With the pervasive use of fluoride toothpaste, there is no detectable difference between tooth decay in Europe and in the U.S. Hence, fluoridated drinking water probably has no beneficial effect on tooth preservation.
Fluorine compounds are actually a toxic waste product of fertilizer manufacturing and other industries. Concentrations of 1 ppm in our drinking water might be safe, but with no beneficial effect why take the risk? I am grateful that water is not fluoridated at my family's current residence in Eugene, Oregon.
Tetraethyl lead was a popular additive to gasoline from the 1920s until being phased out in the 1970s. We know now that lead is a serious environmental and health hazard. Fluoride, the active ingredient in many pesticides and rodenticides, is a powerful poison - more acutely poisonous than lead. Water fluoridation accidents, causing excess levels of fluoride in drinking water, have resulted in acute fluoride poisoning.
Is water fluoridation really worth the risk? Visit the Fluoride Action Network for more information.
Joshua Pritikin\n GSAS I
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