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4 Rules for Good Teeth A poster from the 1970s promoting good oral hygiene by drinking fluorinated water.	Aluminum Company of America The logo for the Aluminum Company of America.	American Dental Association Logo The logo for the American Dental Association.
Anti-Fluoride Signs Signs from a 2009 protest against fluoride in Australia.	Cocaine Toothache Drops An 1885 advertisement for cocaine for dental pain in children.	Colgate Fluoride Toothpaste Colgate, like most American toothpastes, indicates the presence of fluoride by including it as part of the name.
DDT is Good for Me-e-e! An advertisement for the pesticide DDT from Time magazine in 1947.	Dentist on “Comfort” A dentist and patient in the 1910s or 1920s.	Dentist with Patients A dentist examining children’s teeth at the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in the 1940s or 1950s.
Dr. Frederick McKay Dr. Frederick McKay in the early 20th century.	Dr. Trendley H. Dean Dr. Trendley H. Dean in the 1950s.	Fluoridated Water Map A 2009 map depicting global fluoridated water usage with colors indicating the percentage of the population in each country with fluoridated water from natural and artificial sources.
Fluoride and Cancer Graffiti Graffiti in Wellington, New Zealand declaring that fluoride causes cancer and questioning why it is added to water.	Fluoride Concentrations A 2009 map depicting areas with groundwater fluoride concentrations above the recommended levels.	Fluoride Feed Station A safety instructor checking fluoridation levels at the Fluoride Feed Station on Tinker Air Force Base in Oklahoma City, OK in 2016.
Fluoride Warning A sign near Morongo Valley, CA warning that the water exceeds the maximum level for fluoride.	General Jack D. Ripper and Group Captain Lionel Mandrake A scene from the film Dr. Strangelove in which General Jack D. Ripper tells Group Captain Lionel Mandrake that he discovered a Communist plot to pollute Americans’ “precious bodily fluids” with fluoridated water.	Get the F Out! A 2009 protest in San Francisco, CA against fluorinated water.
Irish Fluoride A flyer protesting adding fluoride to the Irish water supply.	Klenzo An advertisement for Klenzo, a dental creme, in The Saturday Evening Post in 1920.	Look, Mom—no cavities! An advertisement for Crest tooth paste from 1958 in which the company stressed its exclusive use of “Fluoristan.”
Mulberry Phosphate Museum A phosphate museum in Mulberry, FL featuring exhibits on fossils, memorabilia, and the phosphate mining industry.	Phosphate Worker A worker watching the loading of powder fine phosphate in Mulberry, FL in 1947.	Poison in the Tap Water A sticker on a city electrical box in Vancouver, WA from Info Wars, a right-wing media organization known for promoting conspiracy theories.
Poisoned Water! A protest in Dublin, Ireland over a proposed tax increase on water services.	Port Tampa Phosphate Phosphate loaded by elevator at Port Tampa, FL in 1958.	Salt +Fluoride Iodized salt with fluoride sold in Germany.
Severe Fluorosis Severe fluorosis, brown discoloration and mottled enamel, in an individual from an area of New Mexico with naturally occurring fluoride in the water.	Silent Spring Published in 1962, Rachel Carson's Silent Spring documented the indiscriminate use of pesticides and accused chemical industries of disinformation and public officials of unquestioningly accepting those claims.	Smile… A 1970s poster from the U.S. Department of Health Education and Welfare stressing the benefits of fluoride.
Sodium Fluoride Tablets Sodium fluoride tablets.	Steel Water The sculpture “Steel Water” commemorates Grand Rapid’s role as the first city to fluoridate its water supply (photo by Jyoti Srivastava).	Swift and Co. The Swift and Co. phosphate plant in Agricola, FL in 1926.
The Bauxite Mines A mural of bauxite miners from the 1940s in Benton, AR.	The Pebble Phosphate Region of Florida An 1892 map of phosphate deposits on the western edge of Florida.	Trimz DDT An advertisement from the 1940s for children’s wallpaper laced with the pesticide DDT.

Origins: Current Events in Historical Perspective gratefully acknowledges the generous support of the Stanton Foundation.

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