Portland, Ore., Becomes Latest Fluoride Battleground

Over jeers and cheers from the audience, commissioners on the Portland, Ore., City Council voted Wednesday to add fluoride to the city’s drinking water starting in 2014.

Portland is the largest American city that doesn’t add fluoride to its drinking water. But some groups have raised questions about the possible risks from fluoridation and oppose its use.

Those concerns come despite the long and authoritative list of organizations that endorse fluoridation to prevent tooth decay: the American Medical Association, the American Dental Association, the National Institutes of Health and the American Cancer Society.