Utah has become the first U.S. state to ban fluoridation of public drinking water, overcoming opposition from dentists and national health organizations warning the move would lead to health problems that would disproportionately affect low-income communities.
Republican Gov. Spencer Cox signed a law prohibiting cities and communities from deciding whether to add the mineral to their water supplies.
Florida, Ohio and South Carolina are considering similar measures, while politicians in New Hampshire, North Dakota and Tennessee have rejected them.
Kentucky's bill to make fluoridation optional has stalled in the state Senate.
The American Dental Association has sharply criticized the Utah law, saying it shows “a blatant disregard for the oral health and well-being of its constituents.”
According to the American Dental Association, dental caries is the most common chronic childhood disease.
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, fluoride strengthens teeth and prevents cavities by replenishing minerals lost through normal wear and tear.
“As a father and a dentist, I am saddened to see that a proven public health policy that exists for the overall good of the oral health of the entire community has been destroyed based on distorted pseudoscience,” Denver dentist Brett Kessler, the association's president, said in a statement.
The ban, which took effect May 7, brings to the forefront concerns about fluoridation that have been marginalized for decades.
It came just weeks after water fluoridation skeptic Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was sworn in as U.S. health secretary.
In November, Mr. Kennedy said the administration of then-presidential candidate Donald Trump would recommend that water systems across the country remove fluoride.
Mr Cox, who grew up and raised his children in a community without fluoridated water, recently compared it to getting medication from the government.
Utah politicians also said the ban was a personal health issue and that adding fluoride to water was too expensive.
Last year, Florida's surgeon general recommended against fluoridating drinking water because of what he called “neuropsychiatric risks.”
The order comes after a federal judge ordered the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to regulate fluoride in drinking water because high levels could pose a risk to children's intellectual development.
Last year, federal officials determined with “moderate confidence” that there is a link between higher levels of fluoride exposure and lower IQ levels in children.
However, the National Toxicology Program based its findings on studies in which fluoride levels were about twice the recommended limit for drinking water.
Mr. Kessler said the amount of fluoride that can be added to water under federal regulations is below levels considered problematic.
According to the National Institutes of Health, very high doses of fluoride that can cause disease usually result from rare accidents, such as unintentional ingestion of fluoride used in dental offices or supplements improperly given to children.
The agency says it is “virtually impossible” to get a toxic dose from fluoride added to water or toothpaste in standard amounts.
However, in some communities, recommended levels are sometimes exceeded because some water supplies naturally contain more fluoride.
In 2011, officials reported that two in five U.S. teens had at least mild streaking or staining of their teeth from too much fluoride.
Since 2015, federal health authorities have recommended a water fluoridation level of 0.7 milligrams per liter.
For five decades before that, the recommended upper limit was 1.2 milligrams per liter.
The World Health Organization has set a safe limit for fluoride content in drinking water at 1.5 milligrams per liter.
Adding small amounts of fluoride to drinking water has long been considered one of the greatest public health achievements of the last century: one of the most cost-effective ways to prevent tooth decay on a large scale.
In 1950, federal officials approved water fluoridation to prevent tooth decay and continued to promote the idea even after fluoridated toothpastes hit the market a few years later.
More than 200 million people in the United States, or nearly two-thirds of the population, receive fluoridated drinking water.
According to the Utah Dental Association, fluoride in drinking water can reduce tooth decay by at least 25% across all age groups.
Opponents of a Utah bill to limit fluoridation warn it will have a disproportionately negative impact on low-income residents for whom fluoridated water may be the only source of preventive dental care.
The bill's sponsor, Utah Republican Rep. Stephanie Gricius, acknowledged that fluoride is beneficial but said its absence from water is a matter of “individual choice.”
Of the 484 Utah water systems that reported data in 2024, only 66 fluoridated their water.
The largest case occurred in the state's largest municipality, Salt Lake City.
In 2022, Utah ranked 44th in the nation for the percentage of residents receiving fluoridated water, according to the CDC.
Sourse: breakingnews.ie
