Harvard’s Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy Journalist’s Resource recently published Fluoride in water in the United States and public health misinformation: Research review. Authors Brittany A. Seymour and Denise-Marie Ordway identify the rapid spread of misinformation online and caution journalists against creating a “false balance” in their reporting. The overwhelming body of evidence and 70 years of practical experience support the effectiveness of community water fluoridation (CWF) as a public health measure dental supplies. Leading health, medical and scientific groups continue to recommend the practice. Despite decades of sound science, experience, and support, anti-fluoride groups continue to distort information and have succeeded in disseminating these distortions online. The authors of this research review use the “Harvard study” as a prime example of this phenomenon. The 2012 review of 27 flawed, heterogeneous studies has been used as the basis for claims that fluoridated water lowers IQs in children, ultimately leading to the claim that fluoride is a neurotoxin. The evidence, of course, doesn’t support these claims. But the nature and effectiveness of online networks, and a platform where opinions can be presented as facts regardless of their validity, supports the diffusion of misinformation. That is all the more reason that this research review is such a valuable resource for anyone seeking to write about fluoridation or simply understand the science in support of community water fluoridation. Fluoride: Water Isn’t the Only Vehicle Used In Europe, a variety of methods are used to ensure that fluoride’s benefits reach a large population of children and adults. Ireland, England and Spain have water fluoridation programs that reach nearly 13 million people. Several areas of Italy have natural fluoride levels that are high enough to help prevent tooth decay dental curing light. In Germany, Switzerland, France and other nations, more than 70 million people have access to fluoridated salt. Boy Smiling with TeethMilk is another vehicle for fluoride that several European countries use to help protect teeth from decay. In the United Kingdom, officials in the city of Blackpool recently approved a program to provide fluoridated milk to roughly 8,000 schoolchildren. Their decision was prompted by two facts. First, the local water supply is not fluoridated, so children lack access to fluoride through this means. Second, many Blackpool children have poor oral health. In this non-fluoridated city, the average rate of decayed, missing or filled teeth (DMFT) among 5-year-olds is 40% higher than the Northwest region as a whole. And Blackpool’s 5-year-olds have a DMFT rate that is nearly double the national average in England. Although Blackpool’s decision is encouraging, its fluoridated milk program will only reach 8,000 children. Adults and other children will not receive these benefits. Tooth decay is a lifecycle problem, and this is why health experts in the U.S. view water fluoridation as the best way to reach people of all ages mobile dental unit.