A new study has found people exposed to the recommended levels of fluoride in drinking water do not experience negative cognitive impacts.
People exposed to the recommended levels of fluoride in drinking water do not experience negative cognitive impacts, a new study found, contrasting the studies citied by the Trump administration on the subject.
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has long been an advocate for removing fluoride from drinking water, citing studies that found a correlation between fluoride in drinking water and a reduction in child IQ. Some states – such as Florida and Utah – have already taken measures to ban the addition of fluoride to public drinking water systems, however, this latest study suggests that fluoride may not have a negative impact on cognitive health, and possibly the opposite effect. Newsweek has contacted HHS via email for comment. Why It Matters Fluoride has been added to drinking water for decades, on the basis it helps strengthen tooth enamel, making it more resistant to acid attacks from plaque, bacteria and sugars. However, the practice recently became more controversial when research unveiled the health risks associated with higher levels of exposure to fluoride, and a growing movement of people began to say the addition of the substance to their water was an infringement on their rights. Some scientists have since responded to these concerns, noting that it is not the substance, but the dose, that should be of concern—a dose that can be regulated and controlled to remain at safe levels. A public water tap and Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. What To Know The study, published the journal Science Advances on November 19, found that fluoride exposure, specifically at recommended levels, does not negatively impact young people’s cognition, and instead could have modest positive effects. Lead author of the study and professor of sociology at the University of Minnesota, John Robert Warren, told Newsweek that it was actually the National Toxicology Program’s 2025 report that “motivated” him and his team to investigate the science some more. He said that they wanted to understand the impacts of fluoride on child cognitive health, specifically at the recommended levels, as he said nearly all of the studies considered in the 2025 JAMA Pediatrics study included in the report “modeled the IQ consequences of exposure to fluoride levels much higher than those found in public drinking water in the U.S.” “Even the ‘low exposure’ comparison groups in the studies they reviewed typically experienced fluoride levels considerably higher than those found almost anywhere in the U.S.,” he added. He also said that none of the studies considered by the 2025 JAMA Pediatrics study were conducted on children in the U.S., instead mostly examining “extremely poor, rural people in China , India , Mexico , or Iran .” Therefore, in conducting their study, Warren said he and his team were “motivated to use nationally representative data on American adolescents and to assess the impact on children’s cognition of being exposed to recommended levels of fluoride,” which he said was “the evidence needed to make policy decisions.” While he said it wasn’t the scientist’s place to say whether water should be removed or added to drinking water, he said the decision should be based on “weighing the costs and benefits.” “There is overwhelming evidence about the benefits of fluoride, at recommended levels, for dental health. The evidence for the costs has been much worse in terms of scientific quality and rigor; that’s where we come in,” he said. What People Are Saying Robert Warren, professor of sociology at the University of Minnesota, told Newsweek: “This is a textbook example of why it is so important to conduct scientific research using data collected from people who represent the whole population. This is also a textbook example of why it is dangerous to base public policy decisions on evidence that is entirely irrelevant to the question at hand. The vast majority of the studies reviewed by Taylor et al investigate the effects of extremely high levels of fluoride ─ exposures that are not relevant to public policy debates. Nobody is proposing to put fluoride in drinking water at concentrations several times higher than recommended levels. The question should be, ‘What are the effects of fluoride at 0.7 parts per million as opposed to no fluoride at all?’ The evidence to which we are responding ─ and which has been used in so many policy arguments ─ simply doesn’t answer that question. We hope our study fills that void.” David Bellinger, a professor of neurology and psychology at Boston Children’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School, told Newsweek: “The issue of fluoride neurotoxicity at the lower l...
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
New study links ultra-processed foods to higher risk for colon cancerA new long-term study is raising serious concerns about the health impacts of ultra-processed foods.
Read more »
New Research Shatters Common Claim About Fluoride and IntelligenceFluoride didn't seem to have any effect on children's test scores in high school, researchers found.
Read more »
Morning Workouts Steal Sleep From Student Athletes, Study FindsEarly morning practices may cost college athletes valuable zzz's, according to a new study.
Read more »
Massive Study Debunks One of RFK Jr’s Biggest Claims about Fluoride in Tap WaterResearchers tracked thousands of Americans for decades, finding no links between ingesting recommended levels of fluoride and lower cognitive skills
Read more »
New study finds that fluoride in drinking water may not affect cognitive abilityA new study finds that fluoride in drinking water may not negatively affect cognitive ability, and instead suggests that it may have additional positive effects. CNN’s Sanjay Gupta reports.
Read more »
New study finds fluoride in drinking water may boost cognitive abilities, not harm themTypical levels of fluoride in community drinking water do not impair cognitive abilities and may even boost them, according to a new study published Wednesday in the journal Science Advances.
Read more »