Idiot Healthcare and the Fear of Fluoride

 

by Pa Rock

Citizen Journalist

I've banged on in the space previously about the irrational fear that some members of the public have with fluoride being used as a component of good oral hygiene, but since the situation is rapidly becoming worse, I am overwhelmed by the urge to bang on some more.

Back in my parents' and grandparents' generation, people routinely had bad teeth, false teeth, or no teeth at all, but during the boom years after World War II, all of that started to change for two reasons:  more people could afford to go to the dentist, and local communities began to add fluoride to their water supplies.  As a result, many of us old codgers still have most or all of our natural teeth.

However, whenever something works, like fluoride in the water leading to better oral health, there is always a chorus of non-believers and conspiracy theorists at work trying to stop that progress and direct the efforts elsewhere.  Recently the state of Utah banned the use of fluoride in its public water systems statewide, and now there is a bill in Florida awaiting the governor's signature that will do the same thing in that state.  As that movement spreads, so, too, will the number of people with dental issues.

Political opposition to fluoridated water supplies comes from the libertarians, the John Birch Society, the Ku Klux Klan, the Green Party of the United States - and now it is being championed by the US Secretary of Health and Human Services, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.  This week Secretary Kennedy, who is not a physician, made the bold statement with regard to fluoride that "the more you get, the stupider you are."

Needless to say, that statement by RFK, Jr, has no scientific basis in fact, but it is supported by certain conspiracy-focused groups on social media and it does make for a catchy meme.  

Wealthy parents will be able to protect their children and themselves from these idiot healthcare initiatives by continuing to visit the dentist for fluoride treatments as well as providing fluoride-based toothpaste and mouthwash in the home, but the failsafe protection of fluoride in the water systems is under attack.   The children in poorer families, those where dental visits cause financial hardship and are therefore more sporadic, and those where money is needed food, housing, babysitting, and transportation - and not luxuries like toothpaste and dental floss - those children will suffer, many for the rest of their lives.

An angry and petulant President who has long felt aggrieved by his better-educated countrymen could provide the political impetus to bring water fluoridation crashing down nationwide.

The measles epidemic is spreading, autistic Americans are on the verge of being registered and tracked by the government, and sound dental health is about to go into the crapper - all at the behest of a man who eats roadkill.    In our national battle for survival, the brain worm appears to be edging into the lead.