Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy has maintained that the target of his war on fluoride is ingested fluoride — specifically that from fluoridated drinking water and oral supplements. But the misinformed policy efforts to ban community water fluoridation and restrict access to fluoride supplements are having spillover effects in dentists’ offices. Twenty years ago, as a pediatric dental resident in Iowa City Donald Chi had his first encounter with a family that did not want a topical fluoride treatment for their child. At the time, these patients were rare, but not unheard of. Today, in his practice at Odessa Brown Children’s Clinic in Seattle, he estimates that the clinic sees up to six families a day who say no to fluoride. Some anti-fluoride activists and policymakers have drawn a line between ingested fluoride and the varnishes and gels that are applied by professionals. Topical fluoride usually comes in the form of a quick-drying gel or varni...
