From the Archives at Homeschoolblogger.com at Chronicles of a Family at Home - Jan. 31, 2008: Latest mystery: Fluoride (part 1)

I love a good mystery.  Especially ones with signs of conspiracies and cover-ups and government complicity.  Probably a symptom of WAAAY too much Robert Ludlum and Tom Clancy reading, back when I used to have free, uninterrupted time. My latest case as an amateur sleuth began with a decree to add fluoride to the public water supply from our local mayor, a former lawyer and political party leader.  I thought these strange credentials in making healthcare decisions for the community, and since I strenuously believe that nothing he does is motivated by anything good, it bore looking into. The two week odyssey of research took me from the 1930s through the present, to Sarnia, Ontario, and other disparate places like Hooper Bay, Alaska; Bauxite, Arkansas; and the Aluminum Company of America. Not to mention from science to junk science and on through the politics of expediency.  First of all, let me just say that, like with the terms "homeschooler" and "alien," I am aware that there is an immediate and visceral reaction to the term "opponent of fluoride."  You know instantly that all homeschoolers are dressed in jumpers, are ultra-conservative Christians, and have a dozen children.  You immediately know that all "resident aliens" are actually illegal aliens.  And you equally assume all opponents of fluoride are either quacks or kooks.  (Or maybe you don't have the same visceral reaction because those of you reading this are also homeschoolers?)  But as a friend of mine said to me last week:  "Just because they are kooks doesn't mean they are wrong."  Reminded me of that old chestnut, "Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean someone isn't out to get you." Either way, a fresh look at the evidence on safety and efficacy of fluoride may reveal to you the uneasy truth that while there may be evidence of its effectiveness in reducing dental caries, and while it is frequently repeated that it is economical, you may actually come up dry on hard evidence that it is safe.  I aspire to demonstrate this using facts not garnered from "kooks," but from the Belly of the Beast itself. Look for Part 2, coming soon to this blog, near you.