Children living in two cities that removed fluoride from drinking water are suffering from shocking levels of severe tooth decay, studies have found.
Concerns about the naturally occurring mineral’s potential health risks drove local officials in Juneau, Alaska and the Canadian city of Calgary to stop adding fluoride to tap water in 2007 and 2011, respectively.
Since then, both cities have seen a surge in tooth decay among children.
In Juneau, the average number of procedures to treat tooth decay in children under age six nearly doubled after fluoride was removed — rising from 1.5 treatments per child in 2003 to 2.5 treatments per child in 2012, according to one study.
Researchers in Calgary have identified a similar trend, finding that the rate of tooth decay among seven-to-eight-year-olds was 10 percent higher than those in another Canadian city with fluoridated water.
The problems go beyond teeth — poor dental hygiene in children can lead to broader health problems, including infections in other parts of the body, heart disease, diabetes, and even respiratory issues.
Fluoride was added to public water in the US since 1940s. It has been hailed as one of the greatest medical achievements of the 20th century, drastically cutting rates of tooth decay – especially among children.
Children living in two cities that removed fluoride from drinking water are suffering from shocking levels of severe tooth decay, studies have found
But an increasing number Americans have grown concerned about its potential harms, citing heavily criticized research that links fluoride to cancer, autism and other conditions.
These fears have become so heightened that several states are moving to ban fluoride from drinking water, with Utah becoming the first state to do so in March.
The state’s decision followed warnings from health secretary Robert F. Kennedy (RFK) Jr. that fluoride poses potential health risks.
RFK has referred to fluoride as an ‘industrial waste’ linked to ‘arthritis, bone fractures, bone cancer, IQ loss, neurodevelopmental disorders and thyroid disease,’ though there is little scientific evidence to support these claims.
On April 7, he told reporters he planned to tell the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to stop recommending adding fluoride to drinking water in communities nationwide.
Fluoridating water has been a controversial issue in the US since it became common practice in the mid-1900s.
In recent years, the debate has been reinvigorated largely by research that showed a possible link between fluoride and lowered IQ in children.
But the study looked at fluoride concentrations much higher than those found in most Americans’ drinking water, and has been criticized by some health experts.
These experts warn that removing this mineral from municipal water supplies could have serious consequences for dental health in the US, resulting in situations similar to what researchers have found in Juneau and Calgary.
Warren Loeppky, a pediatric dentist in Calgary who has been practicing for 20 years, told ScienceNews that tooth decay has become more common, aggressive and severe in children over the last decade.
In Juneau, the average number of procedures to treat tooth decay in children under age six nearly doubled after fluoride was removed, according to one study (STOCK)
‘It’s always sad seeing a young child in pain,’ Loeppky said.
‘Dental decay is very preventable. It breaks your heart to see these young kids that aren’t able to eat.’
The Calgary City Council decided to remove fluoride in drinking water primarily due to cost concerns, as well as questions about its effectiveness and safety.
About seven years later, researchers led by Lindsay McLaren, a quantitative social scientist at the University of Calgary, surveyed more than 2,600 second-graders to asses levels of tooth decay.
These children had likely never been exposed to fluoride in their drinking water.
The survey results revealed that 65 percent of them had tooth decay — a 10 percent increase compared to similar-aged kids from Edmonton, a town with fluoridated drinking water.
While a 10 percent difference may not sound like much, McLaren said it is statistically significant difference that is ‘quite large’ on the population level.
For example, in a city of one million kids, that would be 100,000 additional cases of tooth decay as a result of removing fluoride from drinking water.
‘Compared to Edmonton kids, Calgary kids were now considerably worse as far as dental health goes,’ McLaren said, adding that other factors such as diet and socioeconomic status did not explain the difference.
Her findings were published in the journal Community Dentistry and Oral Epidemiology in 2021.
Health secretary Robert F. Kennedy (RFK) Jr. has referred to fluoride as an ‘industrial waste’ linked to ‘arthritis, bone fractures, bone cancer, IQ loss, neurodevelopmental disorders and thyroid disease,’ though there is little scientific evidence to support these claims
Juneau officials opted to remove fluoride four years before Calgary did, citing fears that the mineral could cause unknown health issues.
In 2018, researchers led by Jennifer Meyer published an analysis of Medicaid dental claims records from before and after the city banned fluoride, finding that the number of treatments per child under age six nearly doubled between 2003 and 2012.
What’s more, the cost of these treatments increased by an average of more than $300 per child during this period.
Meyer pointed out that increased Medicaid costs ultimately hurt taxpayers: ‘When politicians decide to withhold a safe and effective public health intervention like fluoridation, they are imposing a hidden health care tax on everyone in their state or community,’ she told ScienceNews.
Some health experts argue that Juneau and Calgary offer a glimpse into America’s future as fluoride skepticism continues to rise.
‘In America, we are entering a dark time,’ Meyer said.
The anti-fluoride movement’s momentum is not unstoppable, however. In 2021, Calgary residents voted to put the mineral back in the city’s drinking water.
That was supposed to happen in March, but the re-fluoridation was delayed until sometime in the second quarter of 2025.
City officials said they needed ‘additional time to allow us to ensure all equipment and systems are checked, inspected and tested to ensure they are all performing as designed,’ according to a statement.
Juneau still does not have fluoride in its drinking water, and the city currently has no plans to reintroduce it.
