In a groundbreaking new move in the campaign to end water fluoridation in the US, the highly respected, campaigning US attorney firm, Public Justice, has become involved in the issue of the harm caused by fluoride, in the form of dental fluorosis.

According to its mission statement, Public Justice aims to “protect people and the environment; hold the powerful accountable; and challenge government, corporate and individual wrongdoing.” As America’s public interest law firm, with 3,000 affiliated attorneys and its HQ in Washington DC, Public Justice carries serious clout. Its involvement in the unfolding Fluoridegate scandal is therefore big news.

The case concerns a 16-year-old girl whose mother, Michelle Nemphos, sued last year under State law in Maryland, to get help with her daughter’s expensive current and future dental care. The girl has dental fluorosis, as a result of exposure to fluoride through Nestle and Dannon fluoridated bottled water. Ms. Nemphos had deliberately ensured that her daughter drank fluoridated bottled water from when she was an infant until she was eight years old, believing that it was good for her teeth.