I live in a country that has, as far as I can tell, never added fluoride to the drinking water. However, it is also a country that has free dental care until the age of 18. And when you take your kid to visit the dentist, one of the first three questions you will be asked is, “Is he/she taking fluoride tablets regularly?” If the answer is anything but “Yes, every single night before bedtime!”, expect a lecture.
In other words, the health authorities absolutely recognize the importance of fluoride in preventing cavities and building healthy teeth in children. They have simply chosen a different vehicle for getting it into the kids.
Of course, they also recommend giving small defenseless children cod liver oil, so I’m not saying they’re perfect, here.
Our city council members who voted to take fluoride out of our city water (I’m guessing) think that the kids will be getting their fluoride from toothpaste and mouthwash now. Well, my sister and brother-in-law have an immigrant family living next to them who can’t afford food (my sil and bil quite frequently feed the kids themselves) - I can’t imagine that people who can’t afford food are buying a lot of toothbrushes and toothpaste. So what these so-called socially conscious people have done is removed the one route that poor kids had for getting fluoride - nicely played.
ETA: Dental care isn’t covered under our universal health care; the really poor kids might have coverage under welfare, but I grew up working poor - I didn’t see a dentist until I was an adult, and it is the same for modern working poor kids, I’m pretty sure.
This is related to a quote below, but I’ll explain my theory here: there are a ton of retirees whose children and families did not move with them. They want the money they’ve got to last as long as possible, and also don’t care about the local population outside of other retirees. This means that they vote against things that cost them money that doesn’t directly benefit them. No grandchildren living nearby? Why should they care about whether schools are properly funded, or fluoride is in the water to prevent tooth decay, or social services are rendered for those who need them? Add restrictions or vision exams to drivers past a certain age? Hell no, that’s unfair and discriminatory! Add age-based restrictions for drivers under the age of 25? That’s just common sense! :rolleyes: I see more retirees causing major accidents in my area due to not being able to see the road between that small patch of window between the dashboard and the steering wheel than I see 18 year olds causing major accidents.
Why yes, Snowbird Season did just start. I’ve already seen my share of mental midgets on the road, vacationing from other parts of the country, and more than a few French Canadiens; they seem to all like our beaches and shoe stores.
My grandfather lived in one of those countries where children were fed cod liver oil on school days when my mom was growing up; he used to leave a bottle of the stuff in the fridge every time he visited (it was rare, as travel was expensive to/from Iceland). It sat there, unused, for months or years until we finally gave up and threw away the bottle.
That particular part of west Florida happens to be a retirement mecca, so the population is unusually high with retirees and poor folks. It’s south of Tampa, IIRC, which is about halfway up the Gulf Coast of Florida. You’re thinking of Pensacola, etc, which are located on the Panhandle of Florida.
