Fluoride in drinking water deserves a hearing

State lawmakers have again sent bills that would bring cavity-fighting fluoride to more water faucets down the drain.

It’s frustrating to see the proposals fail to even get a hearing in the aftermath of a state survey that found our children have the most pervasive tooth decay in the nation. Hawaii is among a handful of states that don’t funnel the chemical into community water systems. Only military bases here fluoridate their water.

The local debate over fluoride dates back decades, with some opponents wary of adding anything other than chlorine to drinking water and others claiming that the mineral is harmful to health, despite a lack of supporting scientific evidence.