{"id":3227,"date":"2025-05-31T15:18:45","date_gmt":"2025-05-31T15:18:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/healthyretirementnews.com\/index.php\/2025\/05\/31\/removing-fluoride-from-public-drinking-water-may-lead-to-millions-more-cavities-in-us-children-study-estimates\/"},"modified":"2025-05-31T15:18:45","modified_gmt":"2025-05-31T15:18:45","slug":"removing-fluoride-from-public-drinking-water-may-lead-to-millions-more-cavities-in-us-children-study-estimates","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/healthyretirementnews.com\/index.php\/2025\/05\/31\/removing-fluoride-from-public-drinking-water-may-lead-to-millions-more-cavities-in-us-children-study-estimates\/","title":{"rendered":"Removing fluoride from public drinking water may lead to millions more cavities in US children, study estimates"},"content":{"rendered":"<div data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/action-bar\/instances\/cmbarpb4l004l26p69g5h4jlt@published\" data-label-id-prefix=\"action-bar-start-of-article\" class=\"action-bar\" data-dynamic-breakpoint-placement=\"{&quot;extraLarge&quot;:{&quot;placement&quot;:&quot;.layout-article-elevate__left&quot;}}\" data-expand-conditions=\"{&quot;follow&quot;:{&quot;extraLarge&quot;:{&quot;alwaysExpand&quot;:true}},&quot;shareOptions&quot;:{&quot;large&quot;:{&quot;maxNumOfActions&quot;:1},&quot;medium&quot;:{&quot;maxNumOfActions&quot;:1},&quot;extraLarge&quot;:{&quot;withAction&quot;:&quot;follow&quot;,&quot;maxNumOfActions&quot;:2}}}\">\n<div class=\"action-bar__overlay\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"action-bar__action-sheet\">\n<div class=\"action-bar__action-sheet--header\">\n<div class=\"action-bar__action-sheet--header-title\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"action-bar__action-sheet--header-close\">                            <\/div>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"action-bar__action-sheet--action\" data-title=\"follow\">\n<div data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/follow-topics-bar\/instances\/cmbarpb4l004p26p6dfpj08kf@published\" data-unauth-redirect=\"\/account\/register\/follow\" data-embed-max-topics=\"\" class=\"follow-topics-bar follow-topics-bar_overlay follow-topics-bar--hide\">\n<div class=\"follow-topics-bar_overlay__inner\">\n<div class=\"follow-topics-bar_overlay__scroll-wrapper\">                  <button data-unselectable=\"true\" data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/chip\/instances\/cmbarpb4l004q26p6aiggewyz@published\" class=\"chip follow-topics-chip \" data-component-variation=\"follow-topics-chip\" data-component-name=\"chip\" data-zjs=\"click\" data-enable-interstitial=\"true\" data-override-success=\"\" data-label=\"Water availability\" data-id=\"3d0489bc-7fe6-43d0-b542-0e697788eccc\" data-reset-on-log-out=\"true\">    <span class=\"chip__label\">Water availability<\/span>    <span class=\"chip__icon\">        <span class=\"chip__icon--check\"><\/span>        <span class=\"chip__icon--add\"><\/span>    <\/span><\/button>        <\/div>\n<div class=\"follow-topics-bar_overlay__fade follow-topics-bar_overlay__fade--hide\"><\/div>\n<p>                      See all topics              <\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"action-bar__action-sheet--action\" data-title=\"share options\">\n<div data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/social-share\/instances\/cmbarpb4l004o26p64kdt7nk8@published\" class=\"social-share_labelled-list\">\n<div class=\"social-share_labelled-list__share-links vossi-social-share_labelled-list\" data-type=\"share-links\">        <button class=\"social-share_labelled-list__share\" data-url=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/dialog\/share?app_id=80401312489&amp;href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cnn.com%2F2025%2F05%2F30%2Fhealth%2Ffluoride-removal-excess-cavities-study&amp;display=popup\" data-type=\"facebook\" aria-label=\"share with facebook\" title=\"Share with Facebook\">                                <span class=\"social-share_labelled-list__share-links--label\">Facebook<\/span>        <\/button>        <button class=\"social-share_labelled-list__share\" data-url=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=Check%20out%20this%20article%3A&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cnn.com%2F2025%2F05%2F30%2Fhealth%2Ffluoride-removal-excess-cavities-study\" data-type=\"x\" aria-label=\"share with x\" title=\"Share with X\">                                <span class=\"social-share_labelled-list__share-links--label\">Tweet<\/span>        <\/button>                                        <span class=\"social-share_labelled-list__share-links--label\">Email<\/span>                <button class=\"social-share_labelled-list__share\" data-url=\"https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2025\/05\/30\/health\/fluoride-removal-excess-cavities-study\" data-type=\"copy\" aria-label=\"copy link to clipboard\" title=\"Copy link to clipboard\">                                <span class=\"social-share_labelled-list__share-links--label\">Link<\/span>        <\/button>        <\/p>\n<div class=\"social-share_labelled-list__copied\" data-type=\"message\">                        Link Copied!        <\/div>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>    <button class=\"social-share_labelled-list__open\" data-type=\"open\" aria-label=\"open social share\" title=\"Open social share\">            <\/button>    <button class=\"social-share_labelled-list__close\" data-type=\"close\" aria-label=\"close social share\" title=\"Close social share\">            <\/button><\/div>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"action-bar__buttons\">            <button class=\"action-bar__button\" data-title=\"follow\">                                        Follow            <\/button>            <button class=\"action-bar__button\" data-title=\"share options\">                                <\/button>    <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"paragraph-elevate inline-placeholder vossi-paragraph\" data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/paragraph\/instances\/cmbarpb4l004n26p6gfhnejy5@published\" data-editable=\"text\" data-component-name=\"paragraph\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">            The longstanding public health practice of adding fluoride to public drinking water systems in the United States is facing new challenges and bans in some places, and experts have warned that the change would come with significant costs \u2013 both to the health of children and the health care system.    <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph-elevate inline-placeholder vossi-paragraph\" data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/paragraph\/instances\/cmbarpqcm00043b6mh6v174hu@published\" data-editable=\"text\" data-component-name=\"paragraph\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">            A new modeling study, published Friday in JAMA Health Forum, estimates that removing fluoride from public water in the US would lead to 25.4 million excess decayed teeth in children and adolescents within five years, along with $9.8 billion in health care costs. After 10 years, these impacts would more than double to nearly 54 million excess decayed teeth and $19.4 billion in costs.    <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph-elevate inline-placeholder vossi-paragraph\" data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/paragraph\/instances\/cmbarpqcm00053b6mbokmdtxb@published\" data-editable=\"text\" data-component-name=\"paragraph\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">            That translates to one additional decayed tooth for every three children in the US \u2013 but the costs wouldn\u2019t be spread evenly, said Dr. Lisa Simon, an internal medicine physician with Brigham and Women\u2019s Hospital and co-author of the new study.    <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph-elevate inline-placeholder vossi-paragraph\" data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/paragraph\/instances\/cmbarpqcm00063b6mlguplhj2@published\" data-editable=\"text\" data-component-name=\"paragraph\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">            \u201cWe know that the people who have the most benefit from fluoride are people who otherwise struggle to access dental care,\u201d says Simon, who has been researching dental policy for a decade. \u201cWhen we think about those 25 million decayed teeth, they\u2019re much more likely to appear in the mouths of children who are publicly insured by Medicaid or come from otherwise low-income families.\u201d    <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph-elevate inline-placeholder vossi-paragraph\" data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/paragraph\/instances\/cmbarpqcm00073b6meshriq71@published\" data-editable=\"text\" data-component-name=\"paragraph\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">            Fluoride is a mineral that can be found naturally in some foods and groundwater. It can help prevent tooth decay by strengthening the protective outer layer of enamel that can be worn away by acids formed by bacteria, plaque and sugars in the mouth. Adding fluoride to public water systems started in the US in 1945 and has been hailed by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as one of the 10 greatest health interventions in America in the 20th century    <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph-elevate inline-placeholder vossi-paragraph\" data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/paragraph\/instances\/cmbarpqcm00083b6mubnk5q5y@published\" data-editable=\"text\" data-component-name=\"paragraph\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">            In 2022, close to two-thirds of the US population was served by community water systems that had fluoride added to them, according to CDC data. But US Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said in April that he would tell the CDC to stop recommending that fluoride be added to public drinking water, and lawmakers in two states \u2013 Utah and Florida \u2013 have banned the practice this year.    <\/p>\n<div data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/related-content\/instances\/cmbavd4x400023b6mcivmzlna@published\" data-component-name=\"related-content\" class=\"related-content-elevate related-content--article\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">\n<header class=\"related-content__title related-content__title-text\" data-editable=\"content.title\">Related article<\/header>\n<section class=\"related-content__body\">\n<div class=\"related-content__image image__related-content\">\n<div data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/image\/instances\/cmad377il000i26oycwsggj41@published\" class=\"image-elevate image__hide-placeholder\" data-image-variation=\"image\" data-name=\"AP25120779957827.jpg\" data-component-name=\"image\" data-observe-resizes=\"\" data-breakpoints=\"{&quot;image--eq-extra-small&quot;: 115, &quot;image--eq-small&quot;: 300, &quot;image--eq-large&quot;: 660}\" data-original-ratio=\"0.6045987376014428\" data-original-height=\"1341\" data-original-width=\"2218\" data-url=\"https:\/\/media.cnn.com\/api\/v1\/images\/stellar\/prod\/ap25120779957827.jpg?c=original\" data-editable=\"settings\">\n<div class=\"image__container \" data-image-variation=\"image\" data-breakpoints=\"{&quot;image--eq-extra-small&quot;: 115, &quot;image--eq-small&quot;: 300, &quot;image--show-credits&quot;: 525}\">           <\/div>\n<div class=\"image__metadata-container media__metadata-container\">\n<div class=\"image__metadata media__metadata\">\n<div class=\"image__caption attribution\">    <span data-editable=\"metaCaption\" class=\"inline-placeholder\">Dissected human teeth are displayed in the office of dentist Dr. James Bekker, April 30, 2025, in Salt Lake City, Utah. (AP Photo\/Hannah Schoenbaum)<\/span>  <\/div><figcaption class=\"image__credit\">Hannah Schoenbaum\/AP<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"related-content__headline\">        <span class=\"related-content__headline-text\" data-editable=\"content.headline\">Utah\u2019s ban on fluoride in public water is a simple change that raises complicated new health risks, experts say<\/span>      <\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"paragraph-elevate inline-placeholder vossi-paragraph\" data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/paragraph\/instances\/cmbarpqcm00093b6mcfaz0bhl@published\" data-editable=\"text\" data-component-name=\"paragraph\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">            To estimate the effects of removing fluoride from community water, Simon and co-author Dr. Sung Eun Choi from the Harvard School of Dental Medicine assessed clinical oral health data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey to create a nationally representative sample of US children.    <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph-elevate inline-placeholder vossi-paragraph\" data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/paragraph\/instances\/cmbarpqcm000b3b6meonk2ris@published\" data-editable=\"text\" data-component-name=\"paragraph\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">            At baseline, the data showed that about 1 in 5 children between the ages of 2 and 5 were estimated to have dental caries, a chronic infectious disease involving tooth decay and cavities, along with more than half of children ages 6 to 12 and more than 57% of teenagers. But removing fluoride would raise those prevalence rates by more than 7 percentage points, the researchers found.    <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph-elevate inline-placeholder vossi-paragraph\" data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/paragraph\/instances\/cmbavlt4g00003b6mrxibug2o@published\" data-editable=\"text\" data-component-name=\"paragraph\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">            \u201cThis is a huge cost for our country and it\u2019s all avoidable. There is no better replacement for the time-tested, doctor trusted use of fluoride in community water programs,\u201d Dr. Brett Kessler, president of the American Dental Association, said in a statement. \u201cNo amount of political rhetoric or misinformation will change that good oral health depends on proper nutrition, oral hygiene and optimally fluoridated water, or fluoride supplements if community water programs lack fluoride.\u201d    <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph-elevate inline-placeholder vossi-paragraph\" data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/paragraph\/instances\/cmbatxfay00003b6m5a1mo6pm@published\" data-editable=\"text\" data-component-name=\"paragraph\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">            On the campaign trail last fall, Kennedy called fluoride \u201cindustrial waste\u201d and claimed that exposure has resulted in a wide variety of health problems, including cancer \u2013 claims that both the American Cancer Society and the CDC have disagreed with. And in April, HHS and the US Environmental Protection Agency announced that they would study the potential health risks of fluoride in drinking water \u2013 a review centered around a government study from last year concluding that higher levels of fluoride are linked to lowered IQ in children.    <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph-elevate inline-placeholder vossi-paragraph\" data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/paragraph\/instances\/cmbaua6lh00053b6mbn2tmd2z@published\" data-editable=\"text\" data-component-name=\"paragraph\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">            In the new modeling study, researchers found that only about 1.5% of US children in 2016 had exposure to this excess level of fluoride \u2013 considered to be above 1.5 milligrams per liter \u2013 that posed risk for fluorosis, a condition that leaves streaks or spots on teeth, or other harms. Meanwhile, about 40% of US children had access to optimal fluoride levels that effectively prevent tooth decay \u2013 between 0.6 and 1.5 milligrams per liter \u2013 while about 46% had access to even lower levels.    <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph-elevate inline-placeholder vossi-paragraph\" data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/paragraph\/instances\/cmbau26tw00023b6myt3zjye4@published\" data-editable=\"text\" data-component-name=\"paragraph\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">            The authors of the new study did not assess the neurocognitive effects of fluoride because \u201ccurrent federal guidance does not find an association\u201d at the levels used in public drinking water. They found that removing fluoride would only help prevent about 200,000 cases of fluorosis over five years.    <\/p>\n<div data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/related-content\/instances\/cmbavdour00043b6mawfk872g@published\" data-component-name=\"related-content\" class=\"related-content-elevate related-content--article\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">\n<header class=\"related-content__title related-content__title-text\" data-editable=\"content.title\">Related article<\/header>\n<section class=\"related-content__body\">\n<div class=\"related-content__image image__related-content\">\n<div data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/image\/instances\/cmampifjs004926qe0jbsd52j@published\" class=\"image-elevate image__hide-placeholder\" data-image-variation=\"image\" data-name=\"c-IMG_1655.jpg\" data-component-name=\"image\" data-observe-resizes=\"\" data-breakpoints=\"{&quot;image--eq-extra-small&quot;: 115, &quot;image--eq-small&quot;: 300, &quot;image--eq-large&quot;: 660}\" data-original-ratio=\"0.75\" data-original-height=\"1800\" data-original-width=\"2400\" data-url=\"https:\/\/media.cnn.com\/api\/v1\/images\/stellar\/prod\/c-img-1655.jpg?c=original\" data-editable=\"settings\">\n<div class=\"image__container \" data-image-variation=\"image\" data-breakpoints=\"{&quot;image--eq-extra-small&quot;: 115, &quot;image--eq-small&quot;: 300, &quot;image--show-credits&quot;: 525}\">           <\/div>\n<div class=\"image__metadata-container media__metadata-container\">\n<div class=\"image__metadata media__metadata\">\n<div class=\"image__caption attribution\">    <span data-editable=\"metaCaption\" class=\"inline-placeholder\">Fluoride supplements are seen in New Jersey on May 13, 2025.<\/span>  <\/div><figcaption class=\"image__credit\">Meg Tirrell\/CNN<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"related-content__headline\">        <span class=\"related-content__headline-text\" data-editable=\"content.headline\">FDA moves to take prescription fluoride supplements off the market<\/span>      <\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"paragraph-elevate inline-placeholder vossi-paragraph\" data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/paragraph\/instances\/cmbarpqcm000c3b6mfxbpdttl@published\" data-editable=\"text\" data-component-name=\"paragraph\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">            Tooth decay can mean a lot of things, Simon said, but their model was picking up cases that would likely need at least a filling along with severe cavities that could turn into a root canal or a tooth extraction \u2013 the costs of which would be borne by families, insurers and the government.    <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph-elevate inline-placeholder vossi-paragraph\" data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/paragraph\/instances\/cmbarpqcm000d3b6mf7xr9lry@published\" data-editable=\"text\" data-component-name=\"paragraph\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">            \u201cTalking about money, which is really important, is only one way to measure that cost,\u201d Simon said. \u201cIt\u2019s also a cost in terms of children being in pain, children not being able to eat, children missing school or not being able to pay attention in school because their teeth hurt, parents missing work, children losing teeth that are supposed to stay with them for their entire lives, and those children growing into older adults who are more likely to be missing teeth with all of the health consequences that entails.\u201d    <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph-elevate inline-placeholder vossi-paragraph\" data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/paragraph\/instances\/cmbarpqcm000e3b6mp5rxmb8e@published\" data-editable=\"text\" data-component-name=\"paragraph\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">            Forecasts in the new modeling study mirror real-life impacts that were measured in other parts of the world after fluoride was removed from drinking water. Calgary, Alberta, stopped putting fluoride in its water in 2011, and a study found that children there had more cavities than those in cities that kept fluoride. Calgary will resume fluoridation this year.    <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph-elevate inline-placeholder vossi-paragraph\" data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/paragraph\/instances\/cmbarpqcm000f3b6mvec83lp0@published\" data-editable=\"text\" data-component-name=\"paragraph\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">            Simon worries the effects in the US might be even greater because of health inequities that are especially pronounced in the dental care system.    <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph-elevate inline-placeholder vossi-paragraph\" data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/paragraph\/instances\/cmbarpqcm000g3b6ml2a1rz9e@published\" data-editable=\"text\" data-component-name=\"paragraph\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">            \u201cWe\u2019ve had fluoridated water for so long and it\u2019s worked so well that we\u2019ve stopped appreciating the amazing things it\u2019s done,\u201d she said. \u201cWhen something has been a success story for 80 years \u2026 you don\u2019t know which kid never got a cavity because they were exposed to fluoride, and we don\u2019t know which older adults aren\u2019t wearing dentures because of that.\u201d    <\/p>\n<div data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/graphic\/instances\/cmbawjz2j00043b6mwz3raqxr@published\" data-component-name=\"graphic\" class=\"graphic-elevate\">\n<div id=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/graphic\/instances\/cmbawjz2j00043b6mwz3raqxr@published\" class=\"graphic__anchor\" data-url=\"https:\/\/ix.cnn.io\/dailygraphics\/graphics\/20250430-sankay-fluoride-callout\/index.html\" data-type=\"dailygraphics\" data-slug=\"20250430-sankay-fluoride-callout\" data-pym-src=\"https:\/\/ix.cnn.io\/dailygraphics\/graphics\/20250430-sankay-fluoride-callout\/index.html\"><\/div>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>This post appeared first on cnn.com<\/div>\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Water availability See all topics Facebook Tweet Email Link Link Copied! 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