In 1931 at the University of Arizona Agricultural Experiment Station M. C. Smith, E. M.Lantz, and H. V. Smith discovered that when given drinking water supplied with fluorine,rats would develop tooth defects. Further testing by H. T. Dean and E. Elove of theUnited States Public Health Service confirmed this report, and stated that what is knownas mottled tooth. Mottled tooth is a condition in which white spots develop on the backteeth. Gradually the white spots get darker and darker until the tooth is erodedcompletely. This was believed to be caused by fluorine in drinking water (Behrman pg.181). A strong uproar was heard when this was released and people wanted all fluorineout of their water. But later tests concluded that communities with high levels of fluorinein their drinking water suffered less dental cavities. Further testing concluded that at least1.0 parts per million of fluorine could help to prevent cavities, but more than 1.5 PPMwould cause mottled tooth, so basically a little fluorine would be okay but a lot of fluorinewould be bad (Behrman 182). In 1938, with this information, Dr. Gerald Cox of the Mellon Institute began topromote the addition of fluoride to public water systems, claiming that it would reducetooth decay, however there were two major obstacles in his path, The American MedicalAssociation, and The American Dental Association. Both associations wrote articles intheir journals about the dangers of fluoridation of water supplies. The American DentalAssociation wrote the following in the October 1, 1944 issue: “We do know the use ofdrinking water containing as little as 1.2 to 3.0 parts per million of fluorine will cause suchdevelopmental disturbances in bones as osteoslcerosis, spondylosis and osteoperosis, aswell as goiter, and we cannot afford to run the risk of producing such serious systemicdisturbances in applying what is at present a doubtful procedure intended to preventdevelopment of denta...
