WOODLAWN, Tenn. (WKRN) — A Montgomery County utility board has made a controversial decision to stop adding fluoride to its water supply.
There has been a nationwide conversation about removing fluoride from water, but the move is one both dental and health experts warn against.
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Fluoride has been added to drinking water across much of Middle Tennessee for more than 50 years. However, President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., wants it removed . Tennessee leaders have talked about fluoride, with one citing a set of 72 epidemiological studies analyzing the association between fluoride exposure and IQ.
“Of the 19 [studies] they considered highly qualified, and low risk of bias, it showed an association between IQ and fluoride, and even low levels of fluoride, affect the IQ of children,” Sen. Rusty Crowe (R-Johnson City) said.
Health experts who spoke with News 2 questioned those findings.