A new analysis reveals that banning fluoride in drinking water in five states could result in over 132,000 additional children needing dental work due to increased tooth decay. This could lead to a significant increase in costs for Medicaid.
If five states ban fluoride in drinking water , 132,572 additional children would need a cavity filled or a tooth pulled.Fluoride is added to drinking water to prevent tooth decay and reduce other dental-related illnesses, according to the American Dental Association and CDC.
Tooth decay can begin very early in a child’s life. If five states ban fluoride in drinking water, the costs to Medicaid for a significant increase in kids with cavities could top $40 million within three years, a new analysis finds., a nonprofit which advocates for fluoridation, used Medicaid claims data and survey responses to predict the outcomes if the five states — Florida, Kentucky, Louisiana, Missouri and Oklahoma — stopped adding fluoride to water systems.Within three years, 132,572 additional children would need a cavity filled or a tooth pulled, according to the analysis. Inwhich banned community water fluoridation last year, 52,131 children beyond what would normally be expected would need such dental care.“Water fluoridation is the most broad-based, evidence-based, available-to-everyone tool that children can benefit from,” said Melissa Burroughs, CareQuest’s senior director of public policy. “If you take that away, the impact on kids is significant.”maintains that community water fluoridation is one of the greatest public health achievements of the past century. Supplementing water systems with the mineral has driven down tooth decay in America by 25%., at least 21 states, including the five spotlighted in the new analysis, have introduced bills to ban it from being added to community water systems.Dr. Scott Tomar, head of the department of population oral health at the University of Illinois in Chicago, said dentists in those states will see the outcome of fluoride bans in the next few years — especially among babies because enamel starts to form long before they sprout their first tooth. “Fluoride is incorporated into the enamel, and it makes that tooth structure more resistant to acid attack, essentially making it less likely to be affected by the bacteria that causes tooth decay,” he said. “Once they start getting their teeth, you will start to see the lack of prevention show up.”Fluoride has been added to public water supplies in the U.S. for decades. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has called fluoride“Fluoride is essential for oral health,” acting CDC director Dr. Jay Bhattacharya told a House Appropriations subcommittee Tuesday. “The key thing is making sure the right dose is delivered in the right way,” he said during the hearing on National Institutes of Healthfunding. Bhattacharya is also the director of the NIH. Too much fluoride “can have neurological and developmental impacts,” he said, without offering specifics. A 2025 analysis from the National Institute of Environmental Health Studies at the NIH did find an association between higher levels of fluoride and lower children’s IQ scores, although the researchers didn’t suggest that the mineral be removed from drinking water., the optimal level of fluoride in drinking water is 0.7 milligrams per liter, amounting to 3 drops in a 55-gallon barrel. The CareQuest study estimates Medicaid costs could reach nearly $40 million within three years if those five states were to enact water fluoridation bans. About half of U.S. kids — 37 million — qualify for Medicaid, but nearly half of those children don’t get dental care. Tomar, who was not involved with the CareQuest analysis, suggested the costs could go much higher because many families on Medicaid seek care at urgent care centers or hospital emergency departments.
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If states ban fluoride, kids with cavities and Medicaid costs could spike, study findsErika Edwards is a health and medical news writer and reporter for NBC News and 'TODAY.'
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Fluoride Bans Could Lead to Surge in Childhood Dental ProblemsA new analysis predicts that banning fluoride in five states' drinking water could result in over 132,000 additional children needing fillings or extractions within three years, potentially costing Medicaid over $40 million. The study highlights the public health benefits of water fluoridation and the potential consequences of its removal.
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If states ban fluoride, more kids will get cavities and Medicaid costs could soar, study findsIf five states ban fluoride in drinking water, 132,572 additional children would need a cavity filled or a tooth pulled.
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