Even though the Athens community is progressive, the Athens-Clarke County government is apparently following decayed wisdom on preventing tooth decay by engaging in the forced medication of the population through our water supply with the addition of a fluoride compound. According to readings available through the Fluoride Action Network website and similar websites, ingestion of fluoride is linked to numerous health problems including bone cancer, fragile bones, decreased intelligence, kidney and liver damage, and lowered fertility.
When you consider what is generally known about fluoride and how it is used to actually prevent tooth decay, these claims are quite credible. For instance, fluoride rinses contain sodium fluoride for which users are instructed to swish for a minute and not to swallow. The instructions further say to call poison control if more than one dose is accidentally swallowed. What quantity of fluoride compounds do we swallow over time through Athens' drinking water? We actually cannot control the amount we are exposed because different people drink different amounts of tap water. Fluoride helps teeth by topical application, not ingestion. One part per million of fluoride, the standard employed by Athens, is insignificant to help teeth through exposure, but ingesting fluoride can lead to fluorosis of teeth and delayed eruption of teeth in children.
The readings also claim that studies show that last century's improvement in dental health came through public education and in many cases actually preceded fluoridation of public water. There are studies that show no correlation between a community's dental health and its ingestion of fluoride compounds.
The real effort against water fluoridation should be at the federal level where the Environmental Protection Agency could ban the addition of fluoride compounds to public water. However, I cannot believe that an educated community like Athens is following the outdated ideas of the early 20th century that are now shown to be dangerous.