Meryl Horn (Senior Producer, PhD)

And this all first got on her radar back in 2011 when her city decided to stop putting fluoride in the water.

And this all first got on her radar back in 2011 when her city decided to stop putting fluoride in the water.

And Lindsay and some of her public health nerd friends saw this and they published an op-ed in the local paper just kind of questioning whether this was actually a good idea. Yeah.

And Lindsay and some of her public health nerd friends saw this and they published an op-ed in the local paper just kind of questioning whether this was actually a good idea. Yeah.

So Lindsay was like, yeah, let's do some science here. Like we're taking fluoride out of the water. Will our teeth get crappier?

So Lindsay was like, yeah, let's do some science here. Like we're taking fluoride out of the water. Will our teeth get crappier?

And I wanted to talk to her about this one study that she did looking at cavities in kids. They did this one about seven years after the city stopped water fluoridation. And so they looked at kids who had basically gone their entire lives without fluoride in the water. So these kids were about seven years old.

And I wanted to talk to her about this one study that she did looking at cavities in kids. They did this one about seven years after the city stopped water fluoridation. And so they looked at kids who had basically gone their entire lives without fluoride in the water. So these kids were about seven years old.

And they started by sending out teams of dental hygienists and researchers to schools in Calgary to check their teeth.

And they started by sending out teams of dental hygienists and researchers to schools in Calgary to check their teeth.

They would, like, set up shop in the nurse's office usually where dental hygienists would look at each kid's mouth one by one for signs of tooth decay. And Lindsay's team wanted to make sure that the kids felt comfortable with this.

They would, like, set up shop in the nurse's office usually where dental hygienists would look at each kid's mouth one by one for signs of tooth decay. And Lindsay's team wanted to make sure that the kids felt comfortable with this.

It's like a dance party.

It's like a dance party.

And they weren't just looking at these kids in Calgary that had lost fluoride from their water. They were also doing this entire thing in another city that was nearby called Edmonton that kept fluoridating their water. So what did they find? You're stringing me along like floss here. Okay, okay. So, yeah, we've got 5,000 second graders across these two cities.

And they weren't just looking at these kids in Calgary that had lost fluoride from their water. They were also doing this entire thing in another city that was nearby called Edmonton that kept fluoridating their water. So what did they find? You're stringing me along like floss here. Okay, okay. So, yeah, we've got 5,000 second graders across these two cities.

And now they can finally see, did the kids who grow up with fluoride added to the water have fewer cavities compared to the kids in Calgary?

And now they can finally see, did the kids who grow up with fluoride added to the water have fewer cavities compared to the kids in Calgary?

It's like 10 percentage points different.

It's like 10 percentage points different.