823 - Fluoride In The Water

Public Health On Call

About this episode:

Water fluoridation is considered one of the greatest public health achievements of the 20th Century. Yet for as long as there has been fluoride in the water, some have raised concerns about its safety. In this episode: the history of water fluoridation, its enormous benefits for preventing tooth decay, and the recent wave of interest in whether fluoridation policies should change.

Guest:

Dr. Charlotte Lewis is a pediatrician at Seattle Children’s, a professor at UW Medicine, and an expert on infant and child nutrition and oral health.

Host:

Stephanie Desmon, MA, is a former journalist, author, and the director of public relations and communications for the Johns Hopkins Center for Communication Programs, the largest center at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

Show links and related content:

• Skeletal Fluorosis Due to Excessive Tea Drinking—The New England Journal of Medicine

• Fluoride Exposure: Neurodevelopment and Cognition—National Toxicology Program

• AAP stands by recommendations for low fluoride levels to prevent caries—American Academy of Pediatrics

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