Public health officials consider the question of water fluoridation's safety closed. Meanwhile, opponents say fluoride is a highly toxic substance that can cause a range of adverse health effects and want the practice halted.

If you’re like most people, you’ve given only limited thought to the fluoride in your tap water. That is, unless you live in Bellefonte, where the issue is now being hotly debated. The Bellefonte Water Authority has voted to end the practice; some area dentists and residents want the authority to reconsider and continue to add fluoride to the water system. Why is this long-standing practice still so controversial? What are the benefits—and risks—of fluoridating drinking water? WPSU's Patty Satalia talks about that with Dr. Richard Miller, a general dentist with Bellefonte Family Dentistry in Bellefonte, Michael Connett, Executive Director of the Fluoride Action Network, an international coalition aimed at ending water fluoridation, and Dr. Sharon Watkins, director of the Bureau of Epidemiology, and Dr. Farhad Ahmed, both with the PA Dept. of Heath.