. >> reporter: abby smith is extra careful about brushing her son's teeth. now that her local tap water no longer contains fluoride. after community members in union county north carolina came forward to express concerns, the county commission voted 3-2, to remove it. >> i didn't even know that there was a fight against fluoride. >> reporter: she's now scrambling to figure out what to do next for her two small children. >> we're going to have to talk about possibly supplementing. >> reporter: the dentist is alarmed. she says fluoride, a naturally-occurring mineral, should be added to public water to help develop strong teeth, especially for small children and those without access to a dentist. toothpaste with fluoride, she says, is not enough, because the fluoride needs to be ingested. >> we know that fluoride works. all the journal articles have shown that. there's a 25% reduction in children and adults' decay. >> reporter: despite being the norm for decades and local debates, the nationwide fight over fluoride in water is reaching new heights in the wake o

. >> reporter: abby smith is extra careful about brushing her son teddy's teeth.r local tap water no longer contains fluoride after community members in union county, north carolina, came forward to express concerns, the county commission voted 3 -2 to remove it. >> i didn't know there was a fight against fluoride. >> reporter: she's scrambling to figure out what to do for her two small children. dentist meg lacry is alarmed. it should be added to water to help small teeth. tooth paste with fluoride is not enough. it needs to be ingested. >> there's a 25% reduction of children and adult decay for people in community flor ri nated water. >> reporter: in the wake of covid and the anti-vaxx movement, pitting dentists. >> i hope you consider leaving the fluoride in the water for the most vulnerable. >> reporter: against activists. >> how can we knowingly lower the population's iq. >> reporter: the local chair of the right wing group moms for liberty pointed to a canadian study that showed lower iqs, the author acknowledges more research is needed. >> fluoride is the o

. >> reporter: abby smith is extra careful about brushing her son teddy's teeth.ins fluoride. after community members in union county, north carolina, came forward to express concerns, the county commission voted 3-2 to remove it. >> i didn't even know that there was a fight against fluoride. >> reporter: she's now scrambling to figure out what to do next for her two dentist meg alarmed. she said fluoride should be added to public water to help develop strong teeth. especially for small children and those without access to a dentist. toothpaste with fluoride is not enough because the fluoride needs to be ingested. >> we know that fluoride works. all the journal articles have shown that. there's a 25% reduction for adults and children in communities with fluoride water. >> the nationwide debate is reaching new heights in the wake of covid and the anti-vaxx movement pitting dentists like lockery. >> i hope you consider leaving the fluoride in the water for the most vulnerable population. >> against activists. >> how long can our society bear the cost of knowingly lo