United States: Fluoride in public drinking water will no longer exist in Utah beginning from May 7, 2025, after Gov. Spencer Cox signed a ban on fluoride addition on March 27, according to The New York Times.
Public drinking water fluoridation will become unlawful starting from May 7, 2025. The new legislation enters force during an intensified public examination of fluoride use.
Drinking water throughout the United States has received this mineral addition since 1945 for cavity prevention purposes.
Health vs. Policy: The Debate Continues
The safety debate about fluoridation of drinking water began in the 1940s, but concerns have escalated in recent times. The majority of public debate about fluoride addition in drinking water focuses on its hypothetical impact on child cognitive abilities, US News reported.
Studies analyzed by researchers showed evidence that exposure to high amounts of prenatal and childhood fluoride may cause a decline in child intelligence levels.
Public health expert Scott Tomar, M.D. from the University of Illinois Chicago Oral Epidemiology Department, indicated to The Times that cognitive problem-linked fluoride concentrations exceed typical fluoride concentration levels found during community water fluoridation by two times.
The document fails to address any connected medical issues stemming from water fluoridation practice.
Gov. Research conducted by Gov. Cox establishes that water fluoridation has minimal impact on oral health in Utah based on data showing the two groups of residents with fluoridated and non-fluoridated drinking water produced comparable results.
Studies contradict the assertion, as shown by The Times. According to research, fluoridated water leads to better oral health outcomes.
Impact on Public Health
The results from 20 research studies that received systematic reviews in 2007 indicated that water fluoridation caused adult cavities to drop by 27 percent, as US News reported.
Tomar expressed worry about the effects of the Utah law, together with other proposed bans that could lead to increased oral problems throughout the nation, especially among underserved areas.
“The benefits of community water fluoridation are most pronounced in low-income communities — communities that often have the least access to dental care and to other sources of fluoride,” Tomar stated.
Fluoride bans, as he mentioned, are “misguided on a number of levels.”