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Take Note: 70 Years On And Water Fluoridation Is Still Controversial

A dripping water faucet.
CDC

If you’re like most people, you’ve given only limited thought to the fluoride in your tap water.  That is, unless you live in Bellefonte, where the issue is now being hotly debated.  The Bellefonte Water Authority has voted to end the practice; some area dentists and residents want the authority to reconsider and continue to add fluoride to the water system.  Why is this long-standing practice still so controversial?  What are the benefits—and risks—of fluoridating drinking water?  WPSU's Patty Satalia talks about that with Dr. Richard Miller, a general dentist with Bellefonte Family Dentistry in Bellefonte, Michael Connett, Executive Director of the Fluoride Action Network, an international coalition aimed at ending water fluoridation, and Dr. Sharon Watkins, director of the Bureau of Epidemiology, and Dr. Farhad Ahmed, both with the PA Dept. of Heath. 

Patty Satalia was a senior producer/host for WPSU-TV and FM from 1987 to 2017. Prior to joining Penn State Public Broadcasting, she worked in commercial television in Pittsburgh, first as a film editor and fill-in capsule news anchor for WPGH-TV, and later, for WPTT-TV as public affairs director and co-host of the talk-show, People, Places and Things.
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