Daredevil Davey wants to be a dentist when he grows up. In the meantime, he places himself in imaginary scenarios in which he proceeds to convince the reluctant citizens of his town that flouridation is good medical, dental, and civil practice. Davey's flights of fancy put him nowhere near Calvin's Spaceman Spiff category, but works well as a shill for the Amercian Dental Association for a series of pubic health comics in the early 1950s.
More than forty years ago, the Board of Health in my hometown sponsored an initiative to put flouride in the public water supply. The crazies came out -- some who were opposed to flourioodation were well-meaning but ill-informed citizens, but there were a lot of crazies, many of who came from out of town or our of state to oppose flouridation. Their argument ranged from it's socialism, to "they" are trying to poison us, to it causes brittle bones, to it is a danger to my lawn and my garden and my pets, to it's too expensive, and so on. Many were dang sure that flourine and flouride were the same chemicals. That campaign taught me how well fear and misinformation works on an unsuspecting populace -- something I see happening even today. That campaign against flouridation worked: it was voted down in all four Water Districts in the town. A lesson learned. Science sometimes falls to superstition.
Perhaps fact-based arguments in Davey's imagination worked with his fellow townspeople. Perhaps the kids in his town will grow up with less dental problems. Perhaps Davey will become a dentist when he grow up. One can only hope.
Enjoy this short, informative public service comic book.
https://comicbookplus.com/?dlid=97193&comicpage=&b=i
Little did they know...the real terror involving teeth would be mid-'60s tetracycline...which while killing bacteria would turn young teeth, at least, eventually with the next teeth or sometimes even their new adult teeth, colors running from beige to yellow...a windfall eventually for cosmetic dentistry...None Dare Deny It Was Conspiracy...
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