A few years ago Calgary caved to activists who believed the wacky pseudoscience from the 50s about fluoridation being a bad thing and stopped treating the city water. Now childhood cavities are way up...
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So, why did Calgary city councilors make a decision that has caused a lot of children unnecessary pain and that will cost their parents a good chunk of change in dental bills?
They essentially bought into the unscientific rantings and overblown fears of a small but loud minority of self-centered chemophobes.
There are four principal arguments raised by opponents of fluoridation:
– Fluoride is a “chemical” that is poisoning people;
– By putting fluoride in municipal water, people are being treated against their will;
– Adding fluoride is a waste of tax dollars because you can get fluoride elsewhere;
– There is a growing scientific “controversy” about the safety of fluoride.
None of these arguments hold any water (fluoridated or otherwise), but let’s examine them anyhow.
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Science illiteracy is problematic almost everywhere...
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