PORTLAND, Maine - Voters living in communities served by the Kennebunk, Kennebunkport and Wells Water District will vote next month on a referendum to continue adding fluoride to its drinking water.
The Portland Press Herald reports that a small group of residents against the Nov. 8 ballot measure say adding fluoride to drinking water amounts to mass medicating and over-fluoridation could be harmful.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say health experts contend that adding fluoride to municipal water systems is among the most important public health advancements of the 20th century.
Local dentists say water fluoridation prevents tooth decay, especially in children.
Approximately 49 percent of Maine's population uses public water supplies and 80 percent of those include fluoridated water.
The district began adding fluoride to its water in 2004.