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Comment by 2AF3 | Hacker News Reader

It's not the role of government to brush my teeth.

It is when tooth decay is a major public health concern.

Actually no, it still isn't.

I think it is, not for you but for your children. Too many parents don't take proper care of their children's teeth and this can cause non-reversible damages. Adding flouride is not the perfect solution but it can help to some degree.

The problem is a combination of sugar over-consumption and bad dental hygiene. Those are the issues that need to be addressed. Adding flouride to our drinking supply does not address these issues.

If you can't afford insurance, the government makes sure you get the health care you need to stay alive and healthy. So the government has a vested interest in making sure people stay healthy, because if a poor person gets sick, the government is paying for their healthcare. Not everyone brushes their teeth, not everyone can afford toothpaste. Everyone has to drink water, though, and fluoride in water causes no real health problems. It's a very quick win for public health, because otherwise the government would be paying to replace poor people's teeth.

What government are you talking about?

Until recently I couldn't avoid government insurance here in America, and the IRS penalizes me monthly for it at a rate higher than the cost of subsidized insurance.

And flouride in your water doesn't replace toothpaste. Are you seriously trying to tell me if I don't brush but drink enough water a day, without changing my sugar consumption and after-meal rinsing habits, that my gums will stay healthy? I don't think you really know what you're talking about.

- Worldwide, 60–90% of school children and nearly 100% of adults have dental cavities.

- Dental cavities can be prevented by maintaining a constant low level of fluoride in the oral cavity.

http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs318/en/

It doesn't seem like it's an issue to you, personally, because we have flourinated water.

I have two abcesses and a cavity. So this is very much an issue to me. My dental problems were caused by weak enamel and losing access to proper dental care.

As a child, I used to get nauseated after brushing my teeth and formed a physical aversion I had to overcome daily. After discovering flouride-free toothpaste a few years ago, I stopped feeling sick after brushing. It's possible I have an underactive thyroid but I haven't sought a real diagnoses.

Putting flouride in our tap doesn't solve sugar over-consumption or bad dental care. And it possibly aggravates hyperthyroidism in some people, though I don't know of any conclusive studies.

>doesn't solve sugar over-consumption or bad dental care

I though you just said that tooth decay isn't still a public health concern, now it is?

Are you saying the WHO is wrong? Based on what evidence?

I never said that?

Don't hijack my argument into something else.

I said it wasn't the government's responsibility to flouridate my drinking water. That isn't what I pay taxes for.

>Actually no, it still isn't.

^ Is what you really said, which didn't make sense even in context.

You pay taxes for what your democratically elected representatives determine it's for, not what you personally think - and like the WHO, they think some of it should be marginally spent on solving major public health concerns.

It isn't my government's responsibility. Didn't say it wasn't an important issue.

The idea that democratic elections are functioning in a representative way in America is a joke. I have no control over many policies that govern me. But I still reserve the right to decide what I think are worthwhile tax expenditures. Your same logic would invalidate the gross overspending of taxes towards my government's defense budget.

So major public health concerns are not the government's responsibility?

At least you understand saying, "That's not what I pay taxes for" is a moot argument then.

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