Why don some cities add fluoride to the drinking water?
As Yahoo! Health notes, fluoride is a naturally occurring mineral that’s found in the Earth’s crust. In the body, it occurs as calcium fluoride. Since the 1930s, health professionals have conducted studies showing that small amounts of fluoride in public drinking water (around one part per million) have reduced tooth decay in children by as much as 50%, although fluoride’s effectiveness and safety have recently been called into question. Excessive amounts of fluoride in drinking water (over 4 parts per million) can have harmful effects. Colgate suggests that parents should monitor young children’s toothbrushing habits (since kids are more likely to swallow toothpaste), and keep any fluoride-supplement tablets in a safe place. As a result of fluoride’s toxicity in high doses and alleg
