News Archive

Fluoride has long been the go-to ingredient for preventing tooth decay and promoting healthy smiles, but increasingly is being frowned upon — including Robert F. Kennedy Jr. this week calling for states to ban fluoridated drinking water. Among the concerns of Kennedy, the U.S. health and human services secretary, is that “higher levels” of fluoride […]

BELMONT, N.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS) — Belmont leaders plan to keep fluoride in the city’s water supply. City council members’ decision Monday came as U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said he will assemble a task force to focus on the issue. Fluoride has been in Belmont’s water supply since 1971, and it’s here […]

For decades, public health advocates have touted the dental health benefits of fluoride. But skepticism, conspiracy theories, and outright fear of fluoridated water have been around for just about as long. And they’re only gaining steam. In the midst of this heated debate, new scientific studies in North Carolina are combating health misinformation and trying […]

On a recent drive through tree-lined neighborhoods in Kinston, water from more than a dozen 5-gallon bottles sloshed around in the back of a white Dodge minivan. The water was for three families, delivered on a Thursday in January by Dr. Gary Slade, a professor of dentistry at the University of North Carolina at Chapel […]

Most North Carolina households that are hooked up to community water systems have fluoride in their drinking water. Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention compiled by the United Health Foundation shows that in 2022 roughly 88 percent of the North Carolina population was served by fluoridated community water systems. Community water fluoridation […]

Belmont city staff recommended that the council vote to stop treating city water with fluoride. The city council is considering the change due to the cost of the chemical and its corrosive nature, as well as the accessibility of fluoride through dental products. Some officials have expressed concerns about the potential impact on underprivileged children […]

The county was already mostly without fluoride due to a 2018 system failure and would have required an upgrade to return the mineral to the water supply. Original article online at: https://www.wcnc.com/video/news/lincoln-co-fluoride/275-b2fc6630-6489-4e7c-8033-0aa58196d60b

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The topic of fluoride in water comes with multiple opinions. Dr. Gregory Cook is the owner of Belmont Dental. He offers his patients the option to have a fluoride rinse at the office. “[I] very strongly recommend it. Cavities are probably one of the most preventable diseases that there is,” Cook said. In […]

LINCOLN COUNTY, N.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS) — Fluoride could return to public drinking water in Lincoln County. Public utility officials are proposing a fix to the county’s fluoride system that could cost as much as $1.4 million. The system has been broken since it failed in 2018. Commissioners voted Monday night to table or delay […]

As President-elect Donald Trump announces key members of his next administration, many in the oral health profession across North Carolina are brushing up on the facts and figures in fluoride studies and research. Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a member of Trump’s transition team who could have an influential health policy role in the 47th president’s […]