GRAYLING, Mich. (Michigan News Source) – Just 15 months after Grayling earned an award from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for “excellence in community water fluoridation,” the town’s council quietly pulled the plug on fluoride.
According to Great Lakes Now, In May, the council voted 4-0 to halt the fluoride dosing program. Less than two weeks later, the injection system was shut down – and six still-unopened barrels of additive were sent right back to the supplier.
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City Manager Erich Podjaske defended the move with a question: “Why are we forcing something on residents … some of which don’t want fluoride in their water?” He argued that those who want fluoride can still get it at the dentist or in their toothpaste.
From public health icon to policy flashpoint.
Fluoridation got its grand debut in Grand Rapids roughly 80 years ago. At the time, it was hailed as a major public health breakthrough. Today, however, it’s become a contested battleground – fighting its way from fringe conspiracy talk to the mainstream and desks of state capitols and council chambers.
On the national stage, U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has denounced fluoride as “industrial waste” and supports ending mandated water fluoridation. Meanwhile, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is reexamining the practice following a lawsuit brought by anti-fluoride groups.
Fluoride isn’t gone from the bathroom shelf.
On the other side of the issue, dentists and public health advocates haven’t exactly rolled out the red carpet for this change. Critics warn that stopping water fluoridation could increase dental decay – especially among children, the elderly, and underserved populations. The American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Dental Association, and the American Medical Association all support community water fluoridation.
Even so, experts point out that fluoride isn’t limited to the tap. Most mainstream toothpastes contain fluoride. Fluoride has been considered the standard cavity-fighting ingredient for decades. Nearly all of the most popular brands of toothpaste (Colgate, Crest, Sensodyne, etc.) contain fluoride. Children’s toothpaste usually contains fluoride too, though sometimes at a lower concentration. So unless the packaging specifically says “fluoride-free,” you can assume a toothpaste on the shelf does have fluoride.
Regardless, Margherita Fontana, a professor at the University of Michigan School of Dentistry called the rollback “unfortunate” and said, “It just seems like we’re going backwards in time rather than forward.”
Decision made in the dark.
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The fluoride decision came with little transparency. No public outreach, no expert debate – just an agenda item and a quick vote. Ten weeks later, a notice quietly appeared online. Michigan requires only state notification when a community stops fluoridation which can leave residents feeling like they have been left in the dark.
Grayling’s water operator, Josh Carlson, said that in the past decade he’s heard more complaints than praise about fluoridation. So, for now, the water runs clear.
