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class="entry-title"> <div class="entry-section"><a href="https://www.courant.com/news/national-news/">National News | </a></div> <span class="dfm-title metered"> US towns plunge into debates about fluoride in water </span> </h1> <h2 class="subheadline">Recent developments have fueled the debates into the practice.</h2></div></div><div class="article-share" id="sharing-top"><div class="sharedaddy sd-sharing-enabled"><div class="robots-nocontent sd-block sd-social sd-social-icon sd-sharing"><h3 class="sd-title">Share this:</h3><div class="sd-content"><ul><li class="share-facebook"><a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" data-shared="sharing-facebook-8349615" class="share-facebook sd-button share-icon no-text" href="https://www.courant.com/2024/11/21/us-towns-debate-fluoride-in-water/?share=facebook" target="_blank" title="Click to share on Facebook" ><span></span><span class="sharing-screen-reader-text">Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)</span></a></li><li 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(Christian Burney/The Durango Herald via AP) " subtitle="" class="lazyload size-article_feature" data-sizes="auto" data-src="https://www.courant.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/AP24325692045898-rotated-3.jpg?w=467" data-srcset="https://www.courant.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/AP24325692045898-rotated-3.jpg?w=467 620w,https://www.courant.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/AP24325692045898-rotated-3.jpg?w=587 780w,https://www.courant.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/AP24325692045898-rotated-3.jpg?w=767 1020w,https://www.courant.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/AP24325692045898-rotated-3.jpg?w=960 1280w,https://www.courant.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/AP24325692045898-rotated-3.jpg?w=1395 1860w" ></div> <figcaption> Residents attend a Durango City Council meeting to speak about the continued fluoridation of the city’s drinking water, Nov. 5, 2024, in Durango, Colo. (Christian Burney/The Durango Herald via AP) </figcaption> </figure> <div class="meta"><div class="coauthor-avatar-container"><div class="byline">By <a href="https://www.courant.com/author/associated-press/" title="Posts by The Associated Press" class=" author-name" rel="author">The Associated Press</a> | <a href="mailto:ap@dfmdev.com">ap@dfmdev.com</a></div><div class="time">UPDATED: <time datetime="2024-11-21 13:41:04">November 21, 2024 at 1:41 PM EST</time></div></div></div></div><div class="article-body"><div class="body-copy"><div class="wp-remixd-voice-wrapper"><script type="text/javascript" id="remixd-audio-player-script" src="https://tags.remixd.com/player/v5/index.js?cb=%%CACHEBUSTER%%" charset="utf-8" async></script></div><p><strong>By MIKE STOBBE, AP Medical Writer</strong><p>NEW YORK (AP) — For about 50 years, adding cavity-preventing fluoride to drinking water was a popular public health measure in Yorktown, a leafy town north of New York City.</p><p>But in September, the town’s supervisor used his emergency powers to stop the practice.</p><p>The reason? A recent federal judge’s decision that ordered U.S. regulators to consider the risk that fluoride in water could cause lower IQ in kids.</p><div class="s2nPlayer k-iLgdKCFX" data-type="float" data-s2n-api="dfm_stn_player_script_id_iLgdKCFX"></div><script> function dfm_stn_player_script_id_iLgdKCFX( getS2NApiForPlayer ) { if( typeof window.MNGAuthentication !== 'undefined' ){ const s2nApi = getS2NApiForPlayer( document.querySelector('.k-iLgdKCFX') ); s2nApi.float = ! window.MNGAuthentication.isUserSubscriber(); } }</script><p>“It’s too dangerous to look at and just say ‘Ah, screw it. We’ll keep going on,’” said the town supervisor, Ed Lachterman.</p><p>Yorktown isn’t alone. The decision to add fluoride to drinking water rests with state and local officials, and fights are cropping up nationwide.</p><script id="0b95427431ed4f349c5af02969d6e70f"> (new Image()).src = 'https://capi.connatix.com/tr/si?token=3a737690-3500-4df2-9997-0377c504f846&cid=38d5daa3-18ac-4ee1-a905-373c67622f25'; cnx.cmd.push( function() { cnx( { playerId: "3a737690-3500-4df2-9997-0377c504f846" } ).render( "0b95427431ed4f349c5af02969d6e70f" ); } );</script><p>Communities in Florida, Texas, Oregon, Utah, Wyoming and elsewhere have debated the idea in recent months — the total number is in the dozens, with several deciding to stop adding it to drinking water, according to Fluoride Action Network, an advocacy organization against water fluoridation. In Arkansas, legislators this week filed a bill to repeal the state’s fluoridation program.</p><p>The debates have been ignited or fueled by three developments:</p><div class="dfp-ad dfp-cube_article" id="div-gpt-ad-cube_article" style="visibility:hidden"> <div class="htlad-cube_article" data-unit="courant.com/news/national-news/cube_article" data-targeting=""></div> </div><ul> <li>In August, a federal agency reported “with moderate confidence” that <a href="https://apnews.com/article/fluoride-water-brain-neurology-iq-0a671d2de3b386947e2bd5a661f437a5">there is a link</a> between high levels of fluoride exposure — more than twice the recommended limit — and lower IQ in kids.</li> <li><span style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;font-size: 17px">In September, </span><a style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;font-size: 17px" href="https://apnews.com/article/fluoride-ruling-drinking-water-ccdfa11138600ab0838ebf979cbaead2">the federal judge ordered</a><span style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;font-size: 17px"> the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to further regulate fluoride in drinking water because high levels could pose a risk to the intellectual development of children.</span></li> <li><span style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;font-size: 17px">This month, just days before the election, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. declared that Donald Trump </span><a style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;font-size: 17px" href="https://apnews.com/article/rfk-kennedy-trunt-fluoride-water-eaf74072a1d037ba37475337b470dcb8">would push to remove fluoride</a><span style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;font-size: 17px"> from drinking water on his first day as president. Trump later picked Kennedy to run the Department of Health and Human Services.</span></li> </ul><p>In Durango, Colorado, there was an unsuccessful attempt to stop fluoridating the water during Trump’s first term in office. A new push came this year, as Trump saw a surge of political support.</p><p>“It’s just kind of the ebb and flow of politics on the national level that ultimately affects us down here,” said city spokesman Tom Sluis.</p><h4>Fluoride is a public health success story but opposition persists</h4><p>Fluoride strengthens teeth and reduces cavities by <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/oral-health/prevention/about-fluoride.html">replacing minerals lost during normal wear and tear</a>, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In 1950, federal officials endorsed water fluoridation to prevent tooth decay, and the addition of low levels of fluoride to drinking water has long been considered one of the greatest public health achievements of the last century.</p><p>Fluoride can come from a number of sources, but drinking water is the main source for Americans, researchers say. Nearly two-thirds of the U.S. population gets <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/fluoridation/php/statistics/2022-water-fluoridation-statistics.html">fluoridated drinking water</a>, according to CDC data.</p><p>There is a recommended fluoridation level, but many communities exceed that, sometimes because fluoride occurs naturally at higher levels in certain water sources.</p><p>Opposition is nothing new, though for decades it was considered a fringe opinion. Adherents included conspiracy theorists who claimed fluoridation was a plot to make people submissive to government power.</p><p>Health officials could point to studies that showed that cavities were less common in communities with fluoridated water, and that dental health worsened in communities without it.</p><p>But fluoride isn’t just in water. Through the years it became common in toothpaste, mouthwash and other products. And data began to emerge that there could be too much of a good thing: In 2011, officials reported that 2 out of 5 U.S. adolescents had at least mild tooth streaking or spottiness because of too much fluoride.</p><p>In 2015, <a href="https://apnews.com/article/096bedef61c349a3b5bf6c636c05fff2">the CDC recommended</a> that communities revisit how much they were putting in the water. Beginning in 1962, the government recommended a range of 0.7 milligrams per liter for warmer climates where people drink more water to 1.2 milligrams in cooler areas. The new standard became 0.7 everywhere.</p><p>Over time, more studies pointed to a different problem: a link between higher levels of fluoride and brain development. <a href="https://ntp.niehs.nih.gov/whatwestudy/assessments/noncancer/completed/fluoride">The August report</a> by the federal government’s National Toxicology Program — summarizing studies conducted in Canada, China, India, Iran, Pakistan and Mexico — concluded that drinking water containing more than 1.5 milligrams of fluoride per liter was associated with lower IQs in kids.</p><p>“There’s no question that fluoride prevents cavities,” said Dr. Tom Frieden, who was director of the CDC when the agency changed the recommended fluoride levels. “There’s also no question we’re getting more fluoride than we were 50 years ago, through toothpaste and other things.”</p><p>Frieden said “a legitimate question” has been raised about whether fluoride affects brain development, and studies making that link “need to be looked at carefully.”</p><h4>U.S. towns wrestle with what to do</h4><p>Many people in health care strongly embrace water fluoridation. The American Dental Association and the American Academy of Pediatrics reaffirmed their endorsement of current CDC recommendations in the wake of the federal report and the judge’s ruling.</p><p>Colorado’s health department, which weighed in during a Nov. 5 Durango city council meeting, said in a statement that it “seeks to align its public health recommendations with the latest scientific research. The facts of this court ruling are not sufficient” to revise current fluoridation levels.</p><p>Durango officials are waiting to see what the EPA does in reaction to the recent court decision, said Sluis, the city spokesman.</p><aside class="related left"><h2 class="widget-title" data-curated-ids="" data-relation-type="automatic-primary-section">Related Articles</h2><ul><li> <div class="entry-section"><a href="https://www.courant.com/news/national-news/">National News | </a></div> <a class="article-title" href="https://www.courant.com/2025/02/17/on-a-mission-to-heal-gila-monsters/" title="On a mission to heal Gila monsters"> <span class="dfm-title metered"> On a mission to heal Gila monsters </span> </a> </li><li> <div class="entry-section"><a href="https://www.courant.com/news/national-news/">National News | </a></div> <a class="article-title" href="https://www.courant.com/2025/02/17/today-in-history-february-17-serial-killer-jeffrey-dahmer-sentenced-to-life-in-prison/" title="Today in History: February 17, serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer sentenced to life in prison"> <span class="dfm-title metered"> Today in History: February 17, serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer sentenced to life in prison </span> </a> </li><li> <div class="entry-section"><a href="https://www.courant.com/news/national-news/">National News | </a></div> <a class="article-title" href="https://www.courant.com/2025/02/16/ukraine-europe-sidelined-trump-russia-war/" title="Ukraine and Europe worry about being sidelined as Donald Trump pushes direct talks with Russia on war’s end"> <span class="dfm-title metered"> Ukraine and Europe worry about being sidelined as Donald Trump pushes direct talks with Russia on war’s end </span> </a> </li><li> <div class="entry-section"><a href="https://www.courant.com/news/national-news/">National News | </a></div> <a class="article-title" href="https://www.courant.com/2025/02/16/trump-administration-cuts-fda-employees/" title="Trump administration cuts reach FDA employees in food safety, medical devices and tobacco products"> <span class="dfm-title metered"> Trump administration cuts reach FDA employees in food safety, medical devices and tobacco products </span> </a> </li><li> <div class="entry-section"><a href="https://www.courant.com/news/national-news/">National News | </a></div> <a class="article-title" href="https://www.courant.com/2025/02/16/snl-50th-anniversary-2/" title="‘Saturday Night Live’ anniversary special opens with Paul Simon, Sabrina Carpenter and Steve Martin"> <span class="dfm-title premium"> ‘Saturday Night Live’ anniversary special opens with Paul Simon, Sabrina Carpenter and Steve Martin </span> </a> </li></ul></aside><p>“We follow the science,” he said. “It wouldn’t be in the best interest of the city to stop fluoridation based on one judge’s interpretation.”</p><p>In Yorktown, Lachterman concluded the judge’s decision was enough to halt fluoridation. He recalled a community discussion several years ago in which most people in the room clearly favored fluoridation, but recently it seems public comment has reversed.</p><p>“It’s like a total 180,” he said.</p><p>But not all public pressure these days is against the idea.</p><p>In September, Buffalo, New York, announced it would resume water fluoridation after not having it for nearly a decade. News reports had described an increase in tooth decay and families sued, seeking damages for dental costs.</p><p>The Buffalo Sewer Authority’s general manager, Oluwole McFoy declined to discuss the decision with The Associated Press, citing the litigation.</p><p>For its part, the EPA “is in the process of reviewing the district court’s decision,” spokesman Jeff Landis said this week.</p><h4>Debates have become heated</h4><p>In Monroe, Wisconsin, fluoridation “has become a very hot issue,” said its mayor, Donna Douglas.</p><p>The small city, near Madison, started fluoridating its drinking water in the early 1960s. But in the late summer, some residents began calling and emailing Douglas, saying she needed to do something about what they saw as a public health danger. The first call “was more like a threat,” she recalled.</p><p>Douglas said she did not take a position on whether to stop, but decided to raise it to the city council for discussion. The discussions were unusually emotional.</p><p>Few people tend to speak during public comment sessions at council meetings, said Douglas. But more than two dozen people spoke at a city council meeting last month, most of them in favor of fluoridation. At a subsequent meeting, about a dozen more people — all opposed to fluoridation — came out to speak.</p><p>“This is the first time we’ve had any debates at all” like this, Douglas said. “I didn’t realize it would be such a heated discussion.”</p><hr><p><em>AP video journalist Brittany Peterson and AP reporter Andrew DeMillo contributed to this report.</em></p><p><em>The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group. 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data-src="https://www.courant.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Russia_Ukraine_War_Minerals_Explainer_04052_3401c8.jpg?w=524" data-srcset="https://www.courant.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Russia_Ukraine_War_Minerals_Explainer_04052_3401c8.jpg?w=524 620w,https://www.courant.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Russia_Ukraine_War_Minerals_Explainer_04052_3401c8.jpg?w=322 380w,https://www.courant.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Russia_Ukraine_War_Minerals_Explainer_04052_3401c8.jpg?w=419 500w,https://www.courant.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Russia_Ukraine_War_Minerals_Explainer_04052_3401c8.jpg?w=457 540w" ></div> </a> </figure> <div class="article-info"> <header> <h3 class="entry-title"> <div class="entry-section"><a href="https://www.courant.com/news/national-news/">National News | </a></div> <a class="article-title" href="https://www.courant.com/2025/02/16/ukraine-europe-sidelined-trump-russia-war/" title="Ukraine and Europe worry about being sidelined as Donald Trump pushes direct talks with Russia on war’s end"> <span class="dfm-title metered"> Ukraine and Europe worry about being sidelined as Donald Trump pushes direct talks with Russia on war’s end </span> </a> </h3>  </header> </div> </article> </li> <li> <article class=" more-posts-view archive-view has-image post-8494425 post type-post status-publish format-standard has-post-thumbnail hentry category-business category-health category-latest-headlines category-national-news category-news category-politics" data-id="8494425" data-timestamp="1739712035" > <figure> <a href="https://www.courant.com/2025/02/16/trump-administration-cuts-fda-employees/" title="Trump administration cuts reach FDA employees in food safety, medical devices and tobacco products" class=""></a> <a href="https://www.courant.com/2025/02/16/trump-administration-cuts-fda-employees/" title="Trump administration cuts reach FDA employees in food safety, medical devices and tobacco products"> <div class="image-wrapper"><img alt="The Trump administration’s effort to slash the size of the federal workforce reached the Food and Drug Administration this weekend, as recently hired employees who review the safety of food ingredients, medical devices and other products were fired." title="The Trump administration’s effort to slash the size of the federal workforce reached the Food and Drug Administration this weekend, as recently hired employees who review the safety of food ingredients, medical devices and other products were fired." subtitle="" class="lazyload size-more_news" data-sizes="auto" data-src="https://www.courant.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Trump-Federal_Workers-Health_25268.jpg?w=525" data-srcset="https://www.courant.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Trump-Federal_Workers-Health_25268.jpg?w=525 620w,https://www.courant.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Trump-Federal_Workers-Health_25268.jpg?w=323 380w,https://www.courant.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Trump-Federal_Workers-Health_25268.jpg?w=420 500w,https://www.courant.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Trump-Federal_Workers-Health_25268.jpg?w=458 540w" ></div> </a> </figure> <div class="article-info"> <header> <h3 class="entry-title"> <div class="entry-section"><a href="https://www.courant.com/news/national-news/">National News | </a></div> <a class="article-title" href="https://www.courant.com/2025/02/16/trump-administration-cuts-fda-employees/" title="Trump administration cuts reach FDA employees in food safety, medical devices and tobacco products"> <span class="dfm-title metered"> Trump administration cuts reach FDA employees in food safety, medical devices and tobacco products </span> </a> </h3>  </header> </div> </article> </li> </ul> </div> <div class="dfm-page-bottom-flex-container"></div> <div class="dfp-ad dfp-sponsorship_2" id="div-gpt-ad-sponsorship_2" style="visibility:hidden"> <div class="htlad-sponsorship_2" data-unit='courant.com/news/national-news/sponsorship_2' data-targeting=''></div> </div> <div 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