Signed by Republican Governor Spencer Cox on Thursday, the new legislation prohibits the addition of fluoride to the state's water supply. It goes into effect on May 7.
Naturally occurring in water, soil, plants, rocks and even the air, fluoride was discovered as a useful tool for preventing cavities and tooth decay by the late 1930s. In 1945, Grand Rapids, Michigan, became the first city to fluoridate its community water, adjusting existing levels in the supply to the therapeutic 1.0 parts-per-million (ppm).
Since then, the levels have been adjusted to a maximum of 0.7 ppm or 0.7 milligrams of fluoride per liter of water, which is considered optimal for preventing tooth decay.
While the CDC maintains that fluoridated water is both safe and cost-effective, questions as to potential hazards introduced by water fluoridation have existed as long as the practice has been popular.
