Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)
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Natural choice. Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0). Source: Wellcome Collection.
A film made in support of fluoridation. Children testify to their experiences of the dentist (there is a brief dramatisation by children mirroring gender stereotypes of the time ie. male dentist/female dental nurse). In Hartlepool, where fluoride occurs naturally in the water, Kathleen Atkinson, School Dental Officer, comments on her surprise at finding how healthy the children's teeth were. Furthermore, Dr William Alcock, formerly the Medical Officer of Health in Westmorland recounts his surprise at the health of the teeth of certain groups of children during wartime evacuation. His experience led him to introduce fluoridation in Watford in 1956. There are a few brief views of the water supply plant at Sutton Surrey which serves Watford. The issue of safety, clearly a concern to the general public, is roundly countered by evidence of the safety of fluoridation from the US where half of the population experiences levels conducive to dental protection. Tea and fish also contain fluoride in beneficial levels!