Fluoride is known to prevent tooth decay, however, the amount of fluoride one ingests has to be regulated. This subject has been polarizing for years as some believe that fluoride can be harmful to one's health.

Does Fluoride lower IQ?

Studies have shown in larger quantities, fluoride is detrimental to one's health.

After evaluating studies published through October 2023, the NTP Monograph concluded there is moderate confidence in the scientific evidence that showed an association between higher levels of fluoride and lower IQ in children. ntp/nih

Fluoride is in water naturally.

Small amounts of fluoride are found naturally in water, however in the 1940's, scientists made a remarkable discovery about cities and towns that had more naturally occurring fluoride in their water supply.

The dental health of folks living in places where fluoride was at a certain level was much better than where the opposite was the case.

In the 1940s, scientists discovered that people who lived where drinking water supplies had naturally occurring fluoride levels of approximately 1 part fluoride per million parts water or greater (>1.0 ppm) had fewer dental caries (cavities) than people who lived where fluoride levels in drinking water were lower. Many more recent studies have supported this finding (1).

It was subsequently found that fluoride can prevent and even reverse tooth decay by inhibiting bacteria that produce acid in the mouth and by enhancing remineralization, the process through which tooth enamel is “rebuilt after it begins to decay. -cancer.gov

About 75% of the country adds fluoride to the water supply in order to bring it up to optimal levels of dental health contribution. Some states want to mandate fluoridation, some want to leave it up to local municipalities and public vote.

Cities and towns in Massachusetts who add fluoride to their water supply

• Acton
• Acushnet
• Amherst
• Andover
• Arlington
• Ashburnham
• Athol
• Attleboro
• Bedford
• Belmont
• Beverly
• Billerica
• Boston
• Brookline
• Burlington
• Cambridge
• Canton
• Chelsea
• Cohasset
• Concord
• Danvers
• Dartmouth
• Dedham
• Dracut
• Duxbury
• Essex
• Everett
• Fall River
• Fitchburg
• Framingham
• Franklin
• Freetown
• Gardner
• Gloucester
• Groveland
• Hamilton
• Haverhill
• Hingham
• Holden
• Holliston
• Holyoke
• Hudson
• Hull
• Ipswich
• Lawrence
• Lexington
• Lincoln
• Longmeadow
• Lowell
• Lynn
• Lynnfield
• Malden
• Manchester by the sea
• Mansfield
• Marblehead
• Marlboro
• Medford
• Melrose
• Middleton
• Millis
• Milton
• Nahant
• Natick
• Needham
• New Bedford
• Newburyport
• Newton
• North Andover
• North Attleboro
• North Reading
• Northborough
• Norwood
• Oak Bluffs
• Oxford
• Peabody
• Pembroke
• Quincy
• Reading
• Revere
• Rockport
• Royalston
• Rutland
• Salem
• Saugus
• Scituate
• Seekonk
• Sharon
• Shrewsbury
• Somerset
• Somerville
• Southborough
• Southbridge
• Stoneham
• Sturbridge
• Sudbury
• Swampscott
• Taunton
• Templeton
• Topsfield
• Tyngsboro
• Wakefield
• Walpole
• Watertown
• Wayland
• Wellesley
• Wenham
• West Newbury
• Westborough
• Westford
• Westminster
• Weston
• Westwood
• Weymouth
• Winchester
• Winthrop
• Woburn

Note: Some towns don't have community water supplies

Towns who don't have an adequate amount of fluoride in the water may have to supplement via mouth rinse or tablets to prevent tooth decay, especially in children.