Communities across the U.S. have been adding fluoride to their water systems since the 1960s, and in Michigan even longer, but that could change under Donald Trump’s second term. President-elect Donald Trump recently nominated Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a fluoridation opponent, to run the Department of Health and Human Services. “For too long, Americans have […]
News Archive
Welcome to the Fluoride Action Network News Archive. The FAN News Archive serves as an historical repository for fluoride news stories, positive or negative. Since FAN catalogs all news stories on fluoride, our news section remains a reliable database of all published fluoride news.
Our news database is categorized by country, state/province, and industry. This collection of articles is constantly being updated with the most recent global news on fluoride-related issues and events.
What Wisconsin experts say about the safety and benefits of putting fluoride in drinking water
In the last year, at least nine Wisconsin communities have decided to stop adding fluoride to their public drinking water, concerned that possible health risks outweigh the benefits. Community water fluoridation became widespread throughout the U.S. in the 1960s and is heralded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as one of the 20th century’s greatest public […]
Woodlawn Utility proposes discontinuing water fluoridation, despite concern from dentists
CLARKSVILLE, TN (CLARKSVILLE NOW) – Woodlawn Utility District, which provides water to about 4,000 households in west Montgomery County, is proposing to stop putting fluoride in its water by Jan. 31. The water company officials said fluoride isn’t needed to make water safe, as it is only a measure used to prevent tooth decay. To […]
The New(ish) Fight Over Fluoride
IF YOU’D LIVED in Grand Rapids, Michigan, in 1945, you’d have been one of the first people in America to sip fluoridated tap water. As of 2024, about 73 percent of us get the mineral in our water supply. And for almost 80 years, there’s been nonstop drama around that addition. In 1956, Clive McCay, […]
Connecticut requires large water systems to add fluoride to the water. Could RFK Jr. change that?
For the vast majority of Connecticut residents, a glass of water drawn from the tap comes with a miniscule amount of fluoride — and has so for decades — as part of public policy aimed at preventing tooth decay. Starting next year, however, those policies could see a major shift with the new presidential administration in […]
Fluoride in the water: Some on McHenry City Council question its presence in city system
Some members of the McHenry City Council have questioned the presence of fluoride in the city’s drinking water. At the Dec. 2 McHenry City Council meeting, Alderman Michael Koch, 6th Ward, suggested the city consider removing the mineral from the city’s water system. “I wanted to bring up about the fluoride in the water,” Koch […]
Colorado Springs’ mysterious brown teeth led a dentist to discover the benefits of fluoride. Now it faces a new chapter.
In the early-1900s, a dentist arrived in Colorado Springs and made an observation that was something like: Holy cow, the people in this town have strong but ugly teeth. Residents’ teeth looked gawdawful — stained dark brown with what the dentist, Dr. Frederick S. McKay, called “mottled enamel.” But there was a shockingly low incidence […]
As the federal government scales down fluoride in drinking water, San Diego’s levels rise
New studies show high fluoride levels can lead to behavioral issues and lower IQ’s in children. SAN DIEGO — The federal government is scaling back its dependence on fluoride in drinking water after new studies found a link between high fluoride exposure to behavioral issues and lower intelligence in children. Despite this, data obtained by […]
With fluoride again drawing criticism, sorting out its prevalence in Pittsburgh-area drinking water
Nearly 100 years ago, it was a Pittsburgh chemist who first identified fluoride as the mystery ingredient in the water supply affecting teeth — trying to understand why children in some communities had teeth with mottled brown spots. Further research found that while the children’s teeth looked unpleasant, they were surprisingly resistant to decay. And […]
MAP: Fluoride in Drinking Water, by State
Health and Human Services Secretary nominee Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said he’ll recommend that local governments remove fluoride from their water supplies. But the mineral is much less prevalent in the drinking water of some states than others, data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows. Less than one-tenth of Hawaii’s municipally served […]