Opinion: Antifluoride campaign could hamper progress in oral health
Members of The Washington Post’s editorial board have assessed the true aims of the antifluoride campaign.
In an opinion piece, they underlined the long-time success of community water fluoridation. For instance, adding fluoride to drinking water has been shown to strengthen tooth enamel and reduce the rates of dental decay. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that water fluoridation has decreased cavities by 40% to 70% among children from the middle to the end of the 1900s. Because of the introduction of fluoride-containing dental hygiene products, a 2024 meta-analysis published on the Cochrane Database of Systematic reviews, uncovered a minimal difference in overall oral health with community water fluoridation. Nonetheless, underserved populations with little to no access to dental care may still rely on community water fluoridation to achieve oral well-being.
Those opposed to community water fluoridation have taken advantage of recent studies with low-quality data as well as disseminated false information to boost their efforts to ban the mineral. The editorial board stressed that U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s rhetoric — branding fluoride as a neurotoxin — has encouraged statewide bans of water fluoridation in Utah and Florida. While a number of other states have considered policies to limit fluoride’s use, nearly half of them have been rejected. The spread of misinformation surrounding fluoride has led to a prioritization of ideology over public health.
The editorial board has called on state and local officials to minimize the use of fluoride in areas with high levels of the naturally occurring mineral rather than eliminate its use altogether. They concluded that politicians challenging today’s policies on oral health should be grounded in the effort to advance oral health practices rather than dismantle them.
Read more: The Washington Post
The article presented here is intended to inform you about the broader media perspective on dentistry, regardless of its alignment with the ADA's stance. It is important to note that publication of an article does not imply the ADA's endorsement, agreement, or promotion of its content.