Questions for ‘Two cities stopped water fluoridation. Kids’ teeth suffered’ 

To accompany ‘Two cities stopped water fluoridation. Kids’ teeth suffered’

SCIENCE

Before Reading:

1. Do you think access to dental care is important for a child? What kind of problems might occur more often in kids who don’t get such care? To what extent might such problems affect the person even after they grow up? Explain your answer.
2. Do you live in a city that puts fluoride in tap water? (If you aren’t sure, give your best guess.) Why do you think this practice began in the first place? What problem does it help solve? If a city that fluoridates their water suddenly ceases the practice, what potential problems should this city watch for in the future?

During Reading:

1. What year did the Canadian city of Calgary stop putting fluoride in its drinking water?
2. In one sentence, describe the chemistry behind how fluoride strengthens tooth enamel.
3. According to Lindsay McLaren’s study, which Canadian city had higher rates of tooth decay among second-graders: Edmonton or Calgary? 
4. What other difference in tooth decay-related problems was found between Edmonton and Calgary in a 2024 study?
5. How many commission members voted on whether or not to end water fluoridation in Juneau, Alaska? What was the result of that vote?
6. In a study of Medicaid claims, how did the average cost of dental care per child change from 2003 to 2012 in Juneau, Alaska? (Provide inflation-adjusted numbers.)
7. What do researchers mean when they say two factors are “correlated”?
8. What correlation did a 2024 report by the National Toxicology Program draw between fluoride and children’s IQ? Give two reasons experts are critical of how opponents of fluoridation have presented this report’s conclusions.
9. How does correlation differ from causation?
10. What percent of Calgary residents voted in favor of water fluoridation in 2021?

After Reading:

1. Review your answer to Question 1 in Before Reading. For a child without access to dental care, do you think water fluoridation programs are more important, equally important or less important compared to a child with access to dental care? Explain your answer.
2. Imagine a person is tasked with making the decision on whether or not to cease water fluoridation for all residents of their city. An anti-fluoridation group wants this person to make the choice to stop water fluoridation, so they point to the 2024 report published by the National Toxicology Program to support their position. How might an anti-fluoridation group use this report to foster fear in the decision-maker? Describe two specific fears this approach might foster in the decision-maker. To what extent might these feelings lead a person to make a decision based on fear rather than science? Explain your answer.