Resumen de Community Debates Regarding Fluoridation: Pre-1970 North American Perspectives

Harry Francis Akers, Jason Mathew Armfield, Michael Anthony Foley

• The history of fluoridation in the United States provides a convenient case study of the intersection of scientific authority and its social and political counterparts. Between 1952 and 1970, proposals to fluoridate community water supplies were a magnet to social scientists, whose attraction to conflict analysis meant a focus on investigating the issues involving referenda. Waves of investigations attempted to link demographic findings to behavioral and social theories. In doing so, US researchers largely ignored the negative aspects of the history of fluoride, the phenomenon of fluoride acceptance and post-World War 11 North American concerns about cnemicals in food. However, social scientists provided aggregate data on the social characteristics of those who voted for and against fluoridation and enunciated a critica! influence on decision-outcome: centralized authority.