I hate to be the bearer of bad news but if you want to save your teeth...

[Bluetus]

60. And conversely, my partner grew up on a farm with well water (no flouride)

and her teeth are rotten -- we're spending a bunch on dental bills.

These are just anecdotes, but the science says the same thing.

This is just sad. I'm pretty old now, but I grew up as computers were emerging. My whole career was defined by scientific advances. America used to be proud of being able to put people on the moon, invent the semiconductor, cell phones, wondrous medical devices and therapies, and all sorts of other technologies. This was all based on science. Nobody ever questioned any of that because the scientific method, itself, tested its own theories and revealed the best knowledge available.

And even as recently as 1987, the US enthusiastically joined the Montreal Protocol to solve the ozone hole crisis, and it was a real looming disaster that had already increased skin cancer frequency in the Southern hemisphere. There was spirited debate among scientists, but there really wasn't any appreciable level of meddling by the politicians, and we moved right ahead with solutions -- very expensive solutions, having to phase out Freon for example. But we were able to do it. And there really were not many idiots on the sidelines putting out pseudo-science crap.

And then it ended. That was the last time science was able to lead the way. That was almost 40 years ago. 40 years where idiots from Limbaugh to Kennedy now are able to shout down the scientists that actually know the answers.