Local dentist voices concern over potential elimination of fluoride in drinking water

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Following U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s plans to stop recommending fluoridation, one local dentist is warning of the harmful impacts removing fluoride from water could have on communities.

On Monday, Kennedy spoke of his plans to tell the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), an organization that he oversees, to stop recommending fluoridation in communities across the country.

“Now we know that there is no systemic advantages, zero systemic advantage, and that the only advantage comes from topical application,” Kennedy said.

Kennedy previously posted to X back in November, saying fluoride is an “industrial waste,” associated with arthritis, bone breaks, and thyroid disease, among other things.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), which determines the maximum level of fluoride allowed in public water, also said they’ll be reviewing new information on the potential health effects of fluoride in water.

“What the EPA is going to do is go back and look at these studies that have come out since July of 2024,” EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin said. “We’re prepared to act based on the science.”

Though administration leaders are assessing potential risk related to fluoridation, those in the dentistry profession feel the exact opposite.

Christopher Smiley has been a dentist in Grand Rapids, the first city in the world to fluoridate its drinking water, for nearly 40 years, and is now concerned for the future of fluoride.

“We’re going to see great increase in decay, and it’s totally unnecessary,” Smiley said.

Fluoride is currently estimated to reduce dental decay by 20%, even for adults, according to Smiley.

Fluoride is also very effective for high-risk populations and people who don’t have access to dental care, relying on the benefits of free community water fluoridation, Smiley said.

“It [removing fluoride] really is, I think, an inappropriate thing for communities to do, especially ones like we have here in West Michigan who have a long track record of success and safety,” Smiley said.

Smiley referred to studies, showing one community that removed fluoride from their water, and one that didn’t, side by side.

The impacts for those who no longer had fluoride could be seen within three years, according to Smiley, with a massive increase in rate of decay, especially for children 3-6 years old.

“It was aggressive,” Smiley said. “These children required care in hospital settings under general anesthesia because the decay was so rampant.”

When looking to a potential future with no fluoride, Smiley said he would expect more cavities for children and adults, along with more limited access to dental care.

“We already have a shortage of oral health providers as it is, and there’s going to be increased demand on that,” Smiley said.