Voters in more than 60 Nebraska communities will decide whether to add fluoride to their drinking water.

Back in April state lawmakers passed a bill making it mandatory for communities of more than 1,000 people to put fluoride in their water.

But they also added an opt out provision, which the majority of communities are putting to a vote next week.

Officials say you won't be able to see or taste fluoride in your water once it's added, in fact, it's already there.

"The recommended rate is to fluoridate up to one part per million and currently the city water supply has between .5 and .6 part per million, so half to a little more is naturally occurring in the city's water supply," said Gary Mader, Grand Island Utilities Director.

But critics say adding more fluoride is dangerous.

"We know they're putting it in the water at 1 part per million, but we've also found that there are issues tied with fluoridation all the way down to .7 parts per million," said Chuck Carpenter, spokesperson for Nebraskans For Safe Water.

"They're finding things in China with lower I.Q. in children. They're finding forms of cancer in New Jersey where they've had a chance to do some severe studying."

But dentist David Lofgreen says at the recommended level fluoride is safe and beneficial.

"The general benefits to the individual are fewer areas of decay in the mouth and the benefit in extends out over ones lifetime," he said. "It's a benefit to society in general because of less cost involved in maintaining teeth of individuals who can't afford to have their teeth fixed."

And Lofgreen says, it's a savings that's proven.

"Hall County spends about $1.4 million a year on people for medicaid in taking care of teeth. Buffalo County spends about $800,000 and they fluoridated water," he said.

But does everyone need that daily dose of fluoride? That's a question the opposition is asking.

"It's a medicine being delivered to the people, and you set a dangerous precedent when you start mass medicating the public to get to a small segment of the population," said Carpenter.

The Centers for Disease Control supports water fluoridation, saying more than 180 million Americans drink fluoridated water.

On November 4th, a vote 'yes' is saying yes to a proposition to keep fluoride out of your drinking water.

A vote 'no' is saying you want fluoride in your water.