Governor of Utah Spencer Cox signed an invoice This week, making the State the first in the nation to ban florur in drinking water.
According to the bill, a person “cannot add fluoride to the water, or water that will be introduced into a public water system” and a “political subdivision cannot promulgate or enforce an ordinance that requires or allows the addition of water fluoride or water that will be introduced into a public water.”
The bill allows pharmacists in the state to prescribe fluoride supplements and directs the professional licenses division to establish guidelines for those recipes.
Cox had previously indicated that would sign the bill. The law will enter into force on May 7.
Fluoride is a mineral that occurs naturally in water sources such as 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.
In this archive photo of October 19, 2023, the governor of Utah, Spencer Cox, speaks at the monthly press conference of the Governor of PBS Utah at the Eccles Transmission Center in Salt Lake City.
Laura Seitz/The Deseret News via ap, pool, file
High quality studies show that fluoride prevents cavities and repairs damage to teeth caused by bacteria in the mouth. Fluoride makes the dental enamel stronger and reconstructs the dental enamel weakened, says the ADA.
Fluoride also replaces the lost minerals of the teeth due to the decomposition of acid, according to the centers for disease control and prevention.
However, influential skeptics such as the Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. have generated doubts about the benefits of fluoride.
In an interview with NPR in November 2024, Kennedy doubled his promise to persuade local governments to eliminate fluoride from their water supplies.
He has affirmed that fluoride in drinking water affects the neurological development of children and that other countries that have eliminated the fluoride from their water supplies have not seen an increase in cavities.
Some health professionals have expressed concern about excessive fluoride intake and potential toxicity.
However, many doctors and dental associations argue that water fluoride remains a crucial tool for low -risk public health/high reward, especially for disadvantaged children and adults that may not be able to practice regular dental hygiene.
In letter Asking Cox to veto the bill, the ADA said that Utah Health Department data It shows that communities with fluorinated water had decreasing rates of dental disease.
The association calls community water fluoration “the most effective public health measure to prevent tooth decay”.
“Studies show that water fluration is still effective in reducing dental decomposition by at least 25% in children and adults, even in the generalized availability of fluoride from other sources, such as fluoride toothpaste,” says the ADA on its website. “Then, simply drinking fluorid water, she’s doing something good for her oral health.”
Sony Salzman of ABC News contributed to this report.
