The Fluoridated Water Controversy

Guest: Wajid Ahmed, Acting Medical Officer for Health, Windsor-Essex County Two-thirds of Americans get fluoride in their drinking water. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention calls fluoridated water one of the top public health achievements of the 20thcentury, because of all the cavities it’s prevented in kids’ teeth. But fluoridated water has also always been controversial: Every year community outcry leads dozens of cities to debate removing it from their water. Some do. The Canadian city of Windsor, which is right across the river from Detroit, has just taken the unusual step of deciding to put fluoride back in the water after removing it five years ago. Why did Windsor make the switch back?