Overview
- A JAMA Health Forum microsimulation forecasts 25.4 million extra decayed teeth in US children within five years if fluoridation ceases.
- Treatment for those additional cavities is projected to cost $9.8 billion over five years and $19.4 billion over a decade.
- Children on Medicaid or without insurance would face the greatest tooth decay increases due to existing access barriers.
- HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s move to rescind CDC fluoridation guidelines has spurred fluoride bans in Utah and Florida.
- The CDC, American Dental Association and other experts maintain that fluoride at recommended levels is safe and cite Calgary’s cavity spike after its 2011 ban as evidence of fluoridation’s benefits.