You’re not an idiot. The gist of it is that there have been places that didn’t have or removed fluoridation from the water and it resulted in terrible dental health in kids.
And yes you can get fluoride from toothpaste and some dietary sources. But I’m guessing what happened there is that due to the risk of swallowing it (or too high levels in adult toothpaste) kids are given lower fluoride or fluoride free toothpaste, so didn’t get enough without having it in the water.
You’re not an idiot. The gist of it is that there have been places that didn’t have or removed fluoridation from the water and it resulted in terrible dental health in kids.
And yes you can get fluoride from toothpaste and some dietary sources. But I’m guessing what happened there is that due to the risk of swallowing it (or too high levels in adult toothpaste) kids are given lower fluoride or fluoride free toothpaste, so didn’t get enough without having it in the water.
Edit: Links
https://www.sciencenews.org/article/fluoride-drinking-water-dental-health
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-14656551/study-reveals-impact-removing-fluoride-water-ban-chemical.html
Thanks for clearing that up for me
No worries!