Donald Trump plans to push to remove fluoride from US drinking water on his first day in office if elected, according to Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
On Saturday, former independent presidential candidate Kennedy took to X, claiming that fluoride is an “industrial waste” linked to arthritis, bone cancer, IQ loss, and thyroid disease.
But experts call these claims unfounded, as fluoride has been added to drinking water and toothpaste for decades in the United States and Canada as a way to help reduce tooth decay and improve dental health, especially in communities with limited access to dental care.
“For someone to come out and say, ‘We are going to ban water fluoridation in the community because it causes arthritis, bone fractures, bone cancer, neurodevelopmental disorders, thyroid problems’…no one can say that out of the blue because there is no science to back it up,” he said. Dr. Jerry Oswak, a physician Associate Professor of Public Health at the University of Saskatchewan.
While he believes it is important to research the health effects of fluoride in community water, he insists that such studies must be based on scientific evidence.
Kennedy, a well-known supporter of debunked health claims, also said Trump pledged to hold him accountable Leading public health agencies In his administration if he wins a second term.
“On January 20, the Trump White House will advise all of the United States. Water systems to remove fluoride from public water. Kennedy stated that fluoride is an industrial waste linked to arthritis, bone fractures, bone cancer, loss of IQ, neurodevelopmental disorders, and thyroid disease. in office.
Trump told NBC News on Sunday that he had not spoken with Kennedy about fluoride yet, “but it sounds good to me.” You know this is possible.
Although it may be controversial, Dr. Arun Puri, CEO of the Canadian Dental Association, said there is so much misinformation circulating about fluoride that the topic usually becomes a political issue right before an election.
“The benefit of it at the levels in Canada is that we see people’s oral health improve and overall tooth decay in the population decreases,” he said. This is only at high levels, and is usually from natural sources such as wells, where possible Pose health risks.
Here’s what to know about fluoride in drinking water.
Fluoride is a naturally occurring mineral and is commonly found in water, air, soil, plants, and food. According to Health Canada.
“It escapes from the environment, and there are naturally fluoridated water supplies where the fluoride content is much higher than what is put into the community water system,” Oswak said.
It can help strengthen teeth.
Fluoride molecules create stronger teeth by hardening tooth enamel. Health Canada said, Contribute to the remineralization of the tooth surface and deter oral bacteria.
Why is there fluoride in the water supply?
In the early 1900s, cavities were “endemic” in the United States, Oswak explained. However, researchers discovered a community in Colorado that seemed immune to this problem.
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After investigation, they found that the local water contains natural fluoride, which strengthens teeth and prevents cavities.
These findings eventually led to the decision to add fluoride to the public water supply as a means of preventing tooth decay. In the 1940s, it was added to public drinking water in the United States and Canada.
Adding low levels of fluoride to drinking water has long been considered one of the greatest public health achievements of the last century, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
However, there are limits to the amount that can be added to water.
In Canada, the optimal level of fluoride in water is 0.7 milligrams per liter (which can also be described as 0.7 parts per million), Health Canada says. The optimal level takes into account the amount of fluoride people get from other sources, such as fluoridated toothpaste or mouthwash.
“The Centers for Disease Control, Health Canada and many regulating oral health agencies believe that in moderation, the amount we use is safe,” Oswak said.
Health Canada states that adding fluoride to drinking water is also “the most cost-effective and equitable way to deliver fluoride to the population. This population-based preventive intervention contributes to oral health equity by overcoming common social determinants of health including Age, education, income, and access to professional dental care.
From a public health perspective, is this also associated with a 25% reduction in tooth decay in children and adults, Health Canada added.
Are there risks from high fluoride levels?
Fluoride intake has both beneficial effects, such as reducing the number of tooth cavities, and negative effects at high doses, including the risk of tooth enamel and skeletal fluorosis as a result of prolonged high exposure. According to the World Health Organization (WHO).
The World Health Organization stated that such exposure may lead to dental fluorosis or skeletal fluorosis, which is accompanied by bone hardening, calcification of tendons and ligaments, and bone deformities.
Alberta Health Fluoride levels of 2.5 milligrams per liter or higher may increase the risk of skeletal fluorosis, he says.
Health Canada said dental fluorosis is a condition in which tooth enamel (the outer layer of your teeth) changes shape — tiny white spots appear on your adult teeth.
Skeletal fluorosis, a condition involving hardening of bones and joints, can occur when high levels of fluoride accumulate in bones over many years. Health Canada said the condition is extremely rare in Canada, where fluoride levels in drinking water are carefully regulated and the fluoride content of products is limited.
“Since the 1940s, researchers have been testing the safety and benefits of fluoride. Aside from dental fluorosis and skeletal fluorosis, there are no other health effects related to fluoride.
Kennedy claimed in his article that fluoride is linked to bone cancer. However, the World Health Organization states that this claim is based only on a study conducted on mice and has not been shown to apply to humans.
“Although giving very high doses of fluoride to mice in a cancer bioassay for two years was associated with an increased incidence of osteosarcoma, there is no evidence in recent, peer-reviewed publications that fluoride levels in drinking water intended to control caries Teeth are linked to an increased risk of bone cancer in humans, the World Health Organization said.
In August 2024, a report from the US National Toxicology Program found that fluoride in drinking water at twice the recommended limit was linked to lower IQ in children. The report noted that drinking water containing more than 1.5 milligrams of fluoride per liter is consistently linked to lower IQ in children.
However, the report did not conclude on the risks of low fluoride levels, saying more study was needed. It also did not answer what high levels of fluoride might do to adults.
Puri stressed that many of the studies linking high fluoride levels to harmful side effects mostly come from areas like Mexico and China, where there is a naturally high concentration of this mineral in water supplies.
“When you look at studies from other countries, in particular, that are well above the 1.5 parts per million limit, those will largely be in water sources, which are not municipal water sources,” he said. “So that’s not what we have in Canada. So it doesn’t really look at a reasonable comparison.”
Oswak stated that research continues to show that fluoride present in water in moderation is safe and provides significant benefits to dental health. However, he and Burri stressed the importance of continuing research into the health benefits and potential drawbacks of fluoride.
“We have to provide the correct information and defuse the discourse, and it is our requirement to continue researching it to maintain its integrity or make those changes if it is not,” he said.
If the United States removes fluoride from its water, Oswak said it’s difficult to predict exactly how decay rates will be affected, because the results may vary across populations. However, he believes cavitation rates are likely to increase overall, especially in disadvantaged communities.
“If there is a community that is more deprived and has lower health literacy or dental care, it will be higher for people at risk,” he said.
He also pointed to the case of Calgary, which removed fluoride from its water in 2011 and subsequently saw a rise in tooth decay rates among residents.
In 2011, Calgary City Council voted to remove fluoride from the city’s drinking water. Following this decision, studies conducted over the next several years noted an increase in caries rates, especially among children.
In November of 2021, Calgary City Council voted to approve the reintroduction of fluoride after holding a referendum that showed 62 per cent support for adding the mineral to the city’s drinking water.
The city is still working on adding fluoride back to drinking water, due to infrastructure problems.
-With files from Global News’ Carolyn Currie de Castillo and The Associated Press
