Fluoride in Drinking Water Is Safe. Here’s the Evidence
Scientific AmericanDEC 1 2024
Utah Becomes First US State to Ban Fluoride in Public Water
Above: Pouring a glass of water from a kitchen faucet. Image copyright: Leonard Ortiz/MediaNews Group/Orange County Register via Getty Images
The Spin
Establishment-critical narrative
The ban on fluoride in Utah is a victory for those in America fighting this obsolete practice that goes against all principles of pharmacology. It's not only that fluoride is an ineffective drug that is already available for individual use in toothpaste, but also that fluoridation is unsafe. No wonder most Western European nations reject this practice.
Pro-establishment narrative
There's been too much misinformation related to fluoridated water, especially as some members of the Trump administration, such as Health Secretary Kennedy, continue to fuel them. Benefits outweigh risks as there's no evidence of negative effects even above recommended levels — studies against the practice actually failed to pass scientific review.