Without preventive measures and care, problems go untreated until they become emergencies. In 2022 alone, Americans made about 1.6 million dental-related visits to hospital emergency departments, costing the health care system $3.9 billion<\/a>. That\u2019s up more than $500 million from 2019. And visits have increased the most \u2014 nearly 60% \u2014 for children under 14.<\/p>\n Fluoride is an especially critical prevention tool for families who cannot access or afford dental care. Yet the Department of Health and Human Services and its agencies have made it clear that they intend to dismantle the protection that fluoride provides, too. After announcing plans to reverse the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention\u2019s guidance on water fluoridation earlier this year, HHS and the Food and Drug Administration are now moving to end the use of fluoride supplements<\/a> \u2014 an important tool<\/a> for preventing tooth decay among children and high-risk adults, especially in communities without water fluoridation. On top of that, HHS has eliminated the CDC\u2019s Division of Oral Health, the Health Resources and Services Administration\u2019s chief dental officer, and oral health research funding and staff at the National Institutes of Health.<\/p>\n The anti-fluoride movement is out of step with the overwhelming consensus of more than 7,000 studies that shows fluoride is safe and effective at recommended levels \u2014 and with the American people. A recent national poll from CareQuest Institute for Oral Health, where I work, showed that the vast majority of Americans (81%) either support community water fluoridation (52%) or have no opinion on it (29%)<\/a>. In fact, only 6% of respondents said that they support banning fluoride in all communities.<\/p>\n \t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t\tI\u2019m a dentist from India. The fluoride debate in the U.S. horrifies me<\/a><\/p>\n Despite the American people\u2019s support for fluoridation, misinformation about fluoride continues to cause fear and confusion among the public and threatens to turn back the clock on oral health. The consequences can be graver than an extra filling or two.<\/p>\n Back in 1966, Hawaii\u2019s government vetoed a measure to include fluoride in the water. A 2015 report<\/a> found that the state had the highest rate of tooth decay among children in the nation. It continues to have some of the worst oral health outcomes in the country. In Juneau, Alaska, dental treatment costs for children spiked after fluoridation ended \u2014 and for kids 6 and under, they more than doubled<\/a>, rising from about $273 to $645 per child each year. In Calgary, Canada, which ended fluoridation in 2011, antibiotic use for serious dental infections in young children spiked 700% \u2014 from 16 to 128 per year<\/a>, according to data presented at a city council meeting \u2014 before the city restored fluoride in 2024, taking steps to reverse years of preventable harm.<\/p>\n The problem is not only medical, it\u2019s financial. Nationwide, the CDC estimates<\/a> that community water fluoridation prevents 25% of cavities and saves $6.5 billion in dental costs each year \u2014 and likely prevents millions of school and work hours lost to dental problems.<\/p>\n Without a concerted effort to increase access to preventive dental care, we can expect similar outcomes to what we saw in Hawaii, Juneau, and Calgary. And dental problems in childhood don\u2019t end with baby teeth \u2014 they set the stage for adult cavities and a lifetime of chronic health problems linked to poor oral health.<\/p>\n The removal of access to fluoride, coupled with Congress\u2019 cuts to Medicaid<\/a>, will strip away vital protections for those most at risk.<\/p>\n We need the administration to step up on policy solutions that can reverse this oral health crisis.<\/p>\n First, the administration should review the weight of the evidence and studies of U.S. communities on water fluoridation and fluoride supplements, and delay any action that would restrict access to fluoride until it can prove that U.S. practices cause any harm.<\/p>\n \t\t\t![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/AP25087536890521-768x432.jpg\")
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