Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said on Monday he plans to assemble a task force and ultimately change the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s guidance to stop recommending adding fluoride.
His comments came during a press conference in Utah, which just became the first state to ban fluoride from drinking water systems.
The Associated Press was the first to report Kennedy’s intended changes to the CDC guidance.
The CDC currently recommends the use of fluoride to prevent cavities.
If Kennedy, who has been outspoken in his support for removing fluoride from water, directs the CDC to change its guidance, it could lead to more cities and states removing fluoride from drinking water, a decision that’s made on the local level.
“Fluoride should not be in the water,” Kennedy said on Monday.
But the CDC’s guidance on fluoride is not enforceable, and a ban on fluoride, should it survive legal challenges, would ultimately need to come from the Environmental Protection Agency.
EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin, also in Utah with Kennedy on Monday, announced that the EPA, too, is reviewing “new science” on fluoride. EPA sets the maximum level of fluoride in water.
“We’re prepared to act based on the science,” Zeldin said at the press conference.
The review by EPA will “inform any potential revisions to EPA’s fluoride drinking water standard,” a press release said, specifically citing a report from the National Toxicology Program, a government-run division.
The August report found lower IQ in children who had higher levels of fluoride exposure — about twice the level recommended limit for U.S. drinking water — and said more research is needed to determine if the small doses recommended in the U.S. cause harm.
“Many substances are healthy and beneficial when taken in small doses but may cause harm at high doses. More research is needed to better understand if there are health risks associated with low fluoride exposures,” the report said.
The study was also cited in a federal judge’s ruling in September that ordered the EPA to take steps to lower the potential risk of fluoride.
U.S. District Judge Edward Chen said more research was needed to understand if the typical amounts of fluoride in the water in the U.S. were causing lower IQ in kids.
“I think we need to apply the cautionary principle in this country that we should do no harm,” Kennedy said Tuesday. “And it clearly is doing harm, and the tradeoff is IQ loss in kids, and we can’t afford that in this country. We need all the brain power that we can to handle the challenges of the future.”
In November, shortly before the election, Kennedy pledged that the Trump administration would advise all U.S. water systems to remove fluoride from public water on day one. That hasn’t happened, but Monday’s announcement marks a development toward Kennedy’s goal.
Fluoride is a mineral that naturally occurs in water sources like lakes and rivers, and is even naturally present in some foods and beverages, according to the American Dental Association (ADA).
It is added to some dental products, such as toothpaste, to help prevent cavities. When it’s added to drinking water, the CDC recommends 0.7 milligrams of fluoride per liter of water. Fluoride is added to the drinking water systems in nearly two-thirds of the U.S., according to CDC data.
High-quality studies show fluoride prevents cavities and repairs damage to teeth caused by bacteria in the mouth. Fluoride makes tooth enamel stronger and rebuilds weakened tooth enamel, the ADA says.
Fluoride also replaces minerals lost from teeth due to acid breakdown, according to the CDC.
Many doctors and dental associations argue that fluoride in water is still a crucial, low-risk and high-reward public health tool, especially for disadvantaged children and adults who may not be able to practice regular dental hygiene. Advocates stress that fluoride in drinking water has greatly improved Americans’ oral health since it was first added in the 1950s.
Responding to Kennedy and Zeldin’s comments Tuesday, the ADA urged Kennedy and Zeldin to use high-quality research in their decision, saying that fluoride in water “does not negatively impact IQ levels” at U.S.-recommended levels.
“The growing distrust of credible, time-tested, evidence-based science is disheartening. 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,” said Brett Kessler, president of the ADA.
“When government officials, like Secretary Kennedy, stand behind the commentary of misinformation and distrust peer-reviewed research it is injurious to public health.”
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