Former United Nations Ambassador and Atlanta Mayor Andrew Young and Pastor Gerald Durley, PhD, are calling for the repeal of Georgia's fluoridation law.
In a news release issued April 13, Young and Durley said they were concerned that fluoridated water disproportionately harms poor citizens and black families, and sent letters to several legislators asking them to repeal the state's mandatory water fluoridation law.
Some communities have expressed concern about adding fluoride to water to help prevent cavities after a 2006 National Research Council report claimed that research wasn't done on the whole-body safety of fluorides and fluoridation, according to the release.
Some 72% of the U.S. population -- 196 million people -- are on fluoridated public water systems, according to the latest data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
A review by the CDC Task Force on Community Preventive Services found that water fluoridation reduces tooth decay by 30% to 50% in children and adolescents. A study published in the Journal of Dental Research (May 2007, Vol. 86:5, pp. 410-415) found that fluoridation prevents about 27% of cavities in adults, according to the CDC.
Parents can use low-fluoride water when mixing milk formula to reduce the risk of teeth staining caused by fluorides, the CDC said.
