When fluoride is added to public water services, all people that use that water services are “medicated” with fluoride. Some people say that “it is an unethical form of mass-medication, without each individual’s consent or knowledge (Main).” …show more content…
These areas would be low-income communities (The). I do not agree that the fluoridation is beneficial because “rather than being particularly beneficial to low-income communities, fluoridation is particularly burdensome and harmful.” It is a challenge for low-income families to avoid fluoridated water. The low-income families are not able to buy the alternatives to fluoridated water such as bottled water or water filters because they cannot afford them. Dr. Kathleen Thiessen, member of the National Research Council, says “I would expect low-income communities to be more vulnerable to at least some of the effects of drinking fluoridated water.” Families of low-income have a higher risk of fluoride toxicity (Fluoride). Fluoride does not help the dental situation in poor areas. There is not much evidence to support the claim that fluoridation is especially helpful in poor communities. Dental health crises occurring in the United States in poor locations do not relate to whether the area’s water is fluoridated …show more content…
This may be partly true, however, I think that fluoridation of water is not the only cause of the decline of tooth decay. Studies done by the United States, Canada, and New Zealand have demonstrated that differences between fluoridated and non-fluoridated areas is small (Medical). Where credit is often given to water fluoridation for reducing tooth decay in the United States, many western countries in which there is not water fluoridation have had the same amount of less tooth decay. The amount of tooth decay in western countries commonly is of lower rates of tooth decay than in the United States. Different than previous findings, five studies done since 2000 have shown that communities that stopped fluoridation have seen no growth in tooth decay (Fluoride).
A few of the reasons of why I believe that fluoride should not be added to public water services are, the addition of fluoride is unethical without the consent of each individual, fluoridated water can cause dental fluorosis in children, and fluoridated water also gives health risks. There are many more reasons besides these of why fluoride should not be added to public water services. I believe that people should be educated about the existence of fluoride in water and the risks of excessive amounts of