When the U.S. Public Health Service endorsed water fluoridation in 1950, there was little evidence of its safety. Now, six decades later and after most countries have rejected the practice, more than 70 percent of Americans, as well as 200 million people worldwide, are drinking fluoridated water. The Center for Disease Control and the American Dental Association continue to promote it--and even mandatory statewide water fluoridation--despite increasing evidence that it is not only unnecessary, but potentially hazardous to human health.

Part 1. Ethical and general arguments against fluoridation : Poor medical practice ; An inappropriate and inefficient practice ; The chemicals used ; Who is in charge? ; An experimental programPart 2. The evidence that fluoridation is ineffective : Fluoridation and tooth decay ; The early evidence reexamined ; Key modern studiesPart 3. The great fluoridation gamble : The great fluoridation gamble, 1930-1950 ; The great fluoridation gamble, 1950Part 4. The evidence of harm : Dental fluorosis ; Fluoride's chemistry, biochemistry, and physiology ; Fluoride poisoning of humans: early reversible effects ; The 2006 National Research Council Report ; Fluoride and the brain ; Fluoride and the endocrine system ; Fluoride and bone ; Fluoride and osteosarcoma ; Fluoride and the kidneys, and other health issuesPart 5. Margin of safety and the precautionary principle : Margin of safety ; The precautionary principlePart 6. The promoters and the techniques of promotion : Weak and inadequate science ; Promoters' strategies and tactics ; Self-serving governmental reviews ; A response to pro-fluoridation claims ; The promoters' motivations -- Review and conclusionAppendix 1: Fluoride and the brainAppendix 2: Fluoride and bone