With Florida set to ban fluoride in public drinking water, health officials in Utah — the first state to impose a similar prohibition — say Floridians without fluoridated water will suffer the most.
“There's a large population of children, mostly from underserved communities that do not access healthcare regularly ... and so they will not be the ones that will get the fluoride supplements, and this very vulnerable population will have an increase in caries [or cavities]," said Dr. James Bekker, a pediatric dentist at the University of Utah.
Sasha Harvey, the executive director at Salt Lake Donated Dental Services in Salt Lake City, Utah, said kids today are now "going to grow up in non-fluoridated area will will have teeth that are not as strong."
She echoed Bekker's concern that children and adults in low-income households will be "two to three times more likely to have untreated cavities."
Florida is set to ban fluoride in public drinking water, with a new law going into effect July 1. It is expected to impact about 15 million Floridians who currently access fluoridated water, according to 2022 data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Supporters of the ban say fluoride could have some benefits but people should not be given it by the government without their informed consent.
“It really shouldn’t be forced on people,” Gov. Ron DeSantis told reporters last week at a press conference in Miami in pledging to sign the bill into law.
READ MORE: In Miami, DeSantis says he will sign drinking water fluoride ban into law
In Utah, health experts said fluoridated water is a health benefit, comparing it to treating water with chlorine to purify it.
“The cost of fluoridating the water is minimal compared to the increased healthcare costs that we will see coming," Bekker said.
Harvey, of Salt Lake Donated Dental Services, said dentists will need to prepare for a larger number of patients with major treatment needs in the future.
Based on state data from 2023, it is estimated that more than 70% of Floridians on community water systems have fluoridated water.
The CDC says that fluoride is naturally present in most water, but usually at levels too low to prevent cavities.
The recommended fluoride concentration in drinking water (also known as the optimal level) is 0.7 milligrams per liter of water — which is equal to three drops of water in a 55-gallon barrel.
Fluoridated water bathes teeth with a low level of fluoride throughout the day, helping strengthen a tooth's surface and making it more resistant to decay.
“ If you ask any dentist in Utah, if they can tell the difference between patients who grew up in fluoridated areas versus non-fluoridated areas, they will tell you hands down, I can tell just by looking in your mouth,” Harvey added.
According to the Florida Dental Association, studies show that water fluoridation is effective in reducing dental decay by 20-40%.
Tooth decay is one of the most common childhood diseases, five times as common as asthma and seven times as common as hay fever. Without fluoridation, it is estimated that children would lose 51 million school hours each year in the United States because of dental-related illness.
For Floridians who want to find alternatives to the ban, the CDC recommends using fluoride toothpaste, visiting the dentist regularly for checkups and cleanings, and consulting medical professionals about possibly taking oral fluoride supplements.
Similar legislation is also pending in Tennessee, Connecticut and Kentucky.
