Abstract
In the 1950s, opponents called fluoridation a communist plot (yes, really, it’s the gag behind Dr. Strangelove and his “precious bodily fluids”). The costume has changed every decade since, but the resistance never actually went away. It just waited. And right now, it's back in force: in 2025, Utah and Florida became the first states to ban community water fluoridation outright, bills to do the same were introduced in roughly twenty more, and federal agencies have begun re-reviewing the science and walking back the longstanding recommendation. Eighty years after Grand Rapids led the way, the thing we thought was settled is anything but.
Recommended Citation
(2026)
"Fluoride Started Here — and the Fight Over it Never Really Ended,"
West Michigan District Dental Society Bulletin: Vol. 58:
No.
3, Article 2.
Available at:
https://commons.ada.org/westmichdds-bulletin/vol58/iss3/2