The Little Known History of Fluoride A Behind-the-Scenes Look at a 20th-Century Achievement in Science and Health

Cavities ... tooth decay ... preventing them with fluoride ... it's easy to think cavities are no big deal. Mundane. Dull.

But that's not how science thinks of them.

And that's not the way CDC thinks of them.

You don't declare fluoridation of drinking water as one of the 10 best things that happened in our country if you think tooth decay is a trifling matter of no concern.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control thinks that cavities are a big deal and that they were an even bigger deal in the past - before fluoride. Tooth decay is and was a major problem.

And like all good science papers do. CDC's paper on fluoride as a twentieth century triumph for public health started with a review of the problem. A review to get us all on the same page about that problem.