HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (WHNT) — When you hear of fluoride, you likely think of toothpaste.
It’s a mineral dental experts recommend to combat cavities and tooth decay, citing decades of studies proving its success.
“In excess of 75 years, we’ve seen the benefits,” Dr. Tommy Johnson, ADPH State Dental Director, said. “And we’ve also seen the lack of benefits when systems actually do take away the fluoridation.”
Fluorine is naturally occurring, found in rocks and soil. It is the 9th element on the periodic table. All natural water sources have a concentration of the mineral at varying degrees.
For roughly the last 80 years, the Alabama Department of Public Health approved adding fluoride to drinking water, but it did not mandate the process.
“There’s 13 states that have mandates of fluoridation,” Johnson said. “Alabama is not one of them.”
Huntsville city leaders have approved water fluoridation for the last 70 years.
“We use a fluoride additive to meet what the city mandates that we do, and that has been in place since the 1950s,” Huntsville Utilities Director of External Affairs Joe Gehrdes said.
There has been some skepticism surrounding fluoride for quite some time. It has recently become more prominent following comments from the Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Utah’s Governor also recently issued a statewide ban on the mineral.
Others have been championing doing away with the treatment altogether or placing another mineral, nano-hydroxyapatite, in its place.
Johnson with ADPH said moderation is key, along with following the CDC’s guidelines of 0.7 parts per million.
“If there’s less than that, as far as the parts per million, then it’s just not effective,” Johnson said. “If it goes in extreme excess of that, then sure, there are some, you know, some issues that can arise as a result of that, but that’s no different than anything else. That’s like vitamin A and B. If you have them in excess, then they’re toxic as well.”
Kennedy said he plans to tell the CDC to stop its fluoride recommendation. He says he is working with the Environmental Protections Agency to review any potential risk factors of the mineral.
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