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Michigan was in the forefront of the
national controversy over whether to add fluoride to drinking water
supplies to prevent tooth decay. In 1944, government agencies selected
Grand Rapids and Newburgh, N.Y., as test cities, after dentists had
noticed that children in areas with large amounts of naturally occurring
fluoride in the water had far fewer cavities. The tests were held, despite warnings that
fluoride might actually be harmful to health and that fluoridation was
part of a communist plot to undermine America's well-being. Ten years
later, Dr. Henry L. Coburn, president of the Kent County Dental Society,
wrote to Governor G. Mennen Williams, "Our experience with
fluoridation has been an unqualified success."
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