EDITORIAL:

Fluoride. Do you think it’s dangerous? Isn’t that the stuff most of us squeeze onto a toothbrush and shove into our mouths every morning and before we go to bed?

So what’s the harm if our government puts it into our water supply? Won’t it help fight tooth decay?

Of course it will. That’s just common sense.

But these days anyone with access to Google can summon up scores of conspiracy theories about how fluoride will cause brain damage or weaken your bones. It’s not necessary to spell out more of these kooky ideas because they’re about as real as the ghost stories you’ll hear this Halloween weekend.

Talk about frightening, though. The Newport Beach City Council asked the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California to delay adding fluoride to the water supply. Why? Because several residents with access to dubious sources on the Internet called fluoride, among other things, “poison.”

Please.

“The argument against fluoride in the ’50s was that fluoridation was a communist plot,” said Jon Roth, executive director of the California Dental Assn. Foundation. “It’s strange how the scare tactics have changed over the past 50 years. Of course, the overwhelming evidence says that it’s safe and effective.”

We hardly think the dental association foundation has a secret agenda. Dentists want us to avoid tooth decay and will use whatever is best to help us battle cavities. Doesn’t your dentist nag you to floss, brush and use whatever mouthwash is best?

If they’re telling us to add fluoride to the water, then they know best.