Fluoride's REVENGE.

This article discusses the impact of dental fluorosis, an ailment caused by excessive levels of chemical fluoride in mineral-rich water in the U.S. in 1990. To prevent dental fluorosis, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) planned to issue a standard. However, officials at the Public Health Service stopped the issuance because they feared that the rule would disrupt their own plans to protect dental health. Though fluoride is best known as the chemical added to drinking water and toothpaste to prevent tooth decay, it can also cause a variety of ailments, such as dental fluorosis. The disease was first noted in Colorado Spring by scientist H. Trendly Dean who became obsessed with discovering the cause of the disease. He showed that people with dental fluorosis had fewer cavities. The controversy over fluoridation is no longer as visible at it was in the 1950s, but it continues. The Public Health Services (PHS) is still trying to make fluoridation available. However, opponents are also making efforts to prevent fluoridation. In 1981, to address the issue, the EPA asked Surgeon General C. Everett Koop, a PHS leader, to convene a panel to advise the agency on the relationship between fluoride and dental fluorosis.