On the Front Line of the Fluoride Wars, Debate Over Drinking Water Treatment Turns Raucous

On the front line of the Fluoride Wars, debate over drinking water treatment turns raucous

A retired dental assistant speaks in favor of fluoridated public water at an August meeting of the St. Clair County Board of Commissioners in Michigan. Credit:Nick Hagen for ProPublicaThis story was originally published by ProPublica. ProPublica is a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative newsroom. Sign up for The Big Story newsletter to receive stories like this one in your inbox. On the far east side of Michigan, the future of fluoride in drink…

On the Front Line of the Fluoride Wars, Debate Over Drinking Water Treatment Turns Raucous

by Anna Clark ProPublica is a nonprofit newsroom that investigates abuses of power. Sign up for Dispatches, a newsletter that spotlights wrongdoing around the country, to receive our stories in your inbox every week. On the far east side of Michigan, the future of fluoride in drinking water — long an ordinary practice for preventing tooth decay — has suddenly provoked passionate debate. Public meetings in St. Clair County, about an hour northeas…