The City Council of Sweet Home, Oregon, a city of roughly 10,000 people, voted this summer to remove fluoride from its drinking water.
In passing the ordinance, which went into effect Aug. 7, Sweet Home joined a growing number of U.S. municipalities that are removing or exploring the removal of fluoride from public drinking water this year.
Utah became the first state to prohibit local communities from adding fluoride to their public water systems, a ban that took effect in May. Florida instituted a similar ban beginning July 1.
Community water fluoridation, endorsed by health organizations and commonplace in the U.S. since the 1950s, came under renewed public scrutiny in the U.S. after Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. began advocating for its removal from public water systems, calling it “industrial waste” and saying it’s associated with detrimental health effects. The American Dental Association called those claims misleading, noting adverse health impacts were found where fluoridation levels were far higher than in the U.S.
In September 2024, a federal judge ordered the Environmental Protection Agency to review potential health risks posed by fluoride in drinking water. The EPA announced in April it would review “new scientific information” on fluoride in coordination with Kennedy and HHS.
Numerous health organizations, including the American Academy of Pediatrics and the ADA, have continued to advocate for fluoride’s safety and effectiveness at reducing tooth decay and improving oral health.
“The growing distrust of credible, time-tested, evidence-based science is disheartening,” ADA President Brett Kessler stated in April. “The myths that fluoridated water is harmful and no longer necessary to prevent dental disease is troublesome and reminds me of fictional plots from old movies like Dr. Strangelove.”
As of 2022, 63% of the U.S. population received fluoridated water from public water systems, according to the ADA. Removal of fluoride from public water systems is expected to cause a 7.5% spike in dental cavities, costing as much as $9.8 billion over five years, it said, citing research published in the JAMA Health Forum.
Both Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida and Gov. Spencer Cox of Utah cited government overreach concerns in enacting statewide bans on fluoride in drinking water this year.
“Yes, use fluoride for your teeth, that’s fine, but forcing it in the water supply is basically forced medication on people,” DeSantis told media outlets in May.
As of May, at least 14 other states had introduced legislation to remove fluoride from their water systems, with four of the proposals failing, according to a WBAL-TV analysis.
In Sweet Home, the ordinance passed with a vote of 5-2, but not without some pushback from a “handful of residents,” including Ivan Wolthuis, a local dentist, The New Era newspaper reported.
“I think this deserves more discussion and a review of the science and the literature,” Wolthuis said.
