A cartoon linked fluoridation to a Communist conspiracy.

The endorsement was overwhelming. By a five-to one vote on October 25, 1951, the San Diego City Council approved the addition of fluoride to the city water supply. San Diego would soon join hundreds of American communities that treated its water to improve the dental health of its citizens. But for an issue that met little argument at first, fluoridation would soon generate fierce controversy. . .

The story of San Diego’s battle over Fluoridating the Water Supply.