I work at a water district in California where state law requires that we add fluoride. We already did before that requirement took effect, and the older dentists here say they could tell which of their customers lived in our service area. Untreated cavities can lead to some pretty nasty health problems so it makes a difference.
It's not cheap, though, and it isn't part of our core mission so I can see why a utility would see it as a way to cut costs. But doing it in secret is wild.
Curious, why is water seem to be seen as the only possible solution? Here in Uruguay we have fluoridated salt instead and it works just fine.
We're mostly just used to it. And we think water's better because the amount people drink varies a lot less than people's salt intake. Especially among kids.
