Utah close to fully banning fluoride in water, stripping cities' ability to decide

[February 25, 2025]  By KENYA HUNTER

Utah appears to be the first state ready to put a full ban on fluoride in public water systems under a bill that doesn't allow cities or communities to decide whether to add the cavity-preventing mineral.

A bill sponsor and an organization opposed to fluoridating water said Utah's proposal would set a precedent in the U.S. — and it would come as new federal health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has expressed skepticism about water fluoridation, which is considered one of the greatest public health achievements of the last century.

Utah's bill cleared its final hurdle in the legislature Friday, and heads to Gov. Spencer Cox for his approval. A spokesperson for Cox didn't immediately respond to a question about whether he'd sign it.

Already, some cities across the country have tossed fluoride from their water, and other municipalities are considering doing the same. A few months ago, a federal judge ordered the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to regulate fluoride in drinking water because high levels could pose a risk to kids’ intellectual development.

Utah ranked 44th in the nation for the percentage of residents that receive fluoridated water, according to data published in 2022 by U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention from all 50 states and the District of Columbia. About two in five Utah residents served by community water systems received fluoridated water.

Lawmakers who backed the bill, which was sponsored by state Republican Rep. Stephanie Gricius and state Sen. Kirk Cullimore, said putting fluoride in the water is too expensive.

“I don't dispute that there can be positive benefits from fluoride, which is why the bill also includes a deregulation of the prescription,” Gricius said in a text message to The Associated Press, referencing a fluoride pill. “This isn't anti-fluoride legislation, it is pro-informed consent and individual choice.”

Fluoridation is the the most cost effective way to prevent tooth decay on a large scale, said Lorna Koci, who chairs the Utah Oral Health Coalition.

Lawmakers arrive at the Utah Capitol Building in Salt Lake City for the first week of the legislative session, Jan. 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Hannah Schoenbaum, File)

“I think the anti-fluoride people, they’re latching onto Kennedy’s opportunity with his beliefs and using that now as a way to kind of get in the door to stop water fluoridation,” Koci said.

She added that fluoridated public water is often the only form of preventive dental care for some people, and the impacts may be most visible in low-income Utah residents.

Fluoride strengthens the teeth and reduces cavities by replacing minerals lost during normal wear and tear, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. And nearly two-thirds of the U.S. population drinks fluoridated water.

Out of the 484 Utah water systems that reported data to the CDC in 2024, only 66 fluoridated their water, an Associated Press analysis showed. The largest was the state's biggest city, Salt Lake City.

In 2023, voters in Brigham City, north of Salt Lake City, struck down a measure that would have removed fluoride from its public water supplies. The proposal was defeated by more than a two-to-one margin.

Val Radmall, the executive director of the Utah Dental Association, said he and others met with Gricius to try to get her to rethink the bill. He worked in a non-fluoridated community for three decades, and said the lack of fluoride showed.

“I’d have a patient come in without cavities or anything else like that, and I’d say, ’You didn’t grow up here. Where did you grow up?' ... because everybody here has lots of cavities!” he said.

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AP data journalist Kasturi Pananjady contributed to this report.

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