
Residents of a small community in Vermont were blindsided last month by news that one official in their water department quietly lowered fluoride levels , giving rise to worries about their children’s dental health and transparent government — and highlighting the enduring misinformation around water fluoridation.
Katie Mather, who lives in Richmond, a town of about 4,100 in northwestern Vermont, said at a water commission meeting this week that her dentist recently found her two kids’ first cavities. She acknowledged they eat a lot of sugar, but noted that her dentist recommended against supplemental fluoride because the town’s water should be doing the trick.