PORTLAND, Ore. -- The City Council has voted to add fluoride to Portland's water, meaning Oregon's largest city is no longer the biggest holdout in the U.S.

The ordinance approved Wednesday morning calls for the city water to be fluoridated by March 2014.

Health experts say fluoride is effective against tooth decay. Opponents of public fluoridation say it's unsafe and violates an individual's right to consent to medicine.

Voters in Portland twice rejected fluoridation before approving it in 1978. But that plan was overturned before any fluoride was ever added to the water.

 

Associated Press