Utah is set to become the first state in the nation to ban fluoride in drinking water, with a new law taking effect later this week, on Wednesday.
That day, the fluoride taps will turn off, if they haven’t already. While Davis and Salt Lake counties, and Brigham City, are the only governments that still add fluoride to drinking water, roughly half of the state’s population lives there.
Sponsored by Rep. Stephanie Gricius, R-Eagle Mountain, HB81 prevents counties and municipalities from adding fluoride to drinking water, while adding it to the list of drugs pharmacists can prescribe.
The reasoning, Gricius said, is that the decision should be left to the individual.
“I would just say it doesn’t get more local control than my own body,” she said during the legislative session earlier this year.
Gricius’ bill was one of several that aligned with the “Make America Healthy Again,” or MAHA, agenda promoted by U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who praised the law earlier this year.
Now, for health officials like Stacey Bank, executive medical director for the Utah Department of Health and Human Services, the focus is on educating the public and reminding them that fluoride is now readily available at most pharmacies.
“I’m grateful for the opportunity to have this conversation. We haven’t talked about oral health and fluoride this much in my career as long as I can remember. This is an opportunity to get the message out to the entire state,” she said on Friday. “I know it’s not always easy to get into a doctor or dentist, there are barriers there. Going to your local pharmacist, talking to the person behind the counter, is enough to take care of your teeth.”
There are currently 25 water systems serving about 1.6 million people spread out across Davis and Salt Lake counties, and Brigham City, that add fluoride to the water. Brigham City has been adding fluoride to the water since the 1960s; Davis County started in 1999; and Salt Lake County in 2003.
Some treatment plants have already stopped adding fluoride to the water, including a handful in Davis County, and Salt Lake County’s City Creek Water Treatment Plant.
If Utahns don’t act, expect tooth decay, officials say
“If I was looking into a crystal ball, we’re going to see a decline in oral health if our community doesn’t take action, and now go to their dentist and talk about what’s best for them and receive their supplements. If that happens, I don’t think we’ll see much of a change,” said Brian Hatch, director of the Davis County Health Department.
In Salt Lake County, where the water has been fluoridated for almost two decades, health officials say they’re losing an effective public health tool.
“From a public health standpoint, we know that community water fluoridation is the best way to benefit individuals and the overall community’s oral health,” added Ron Lund, environmental health director for the Salt Lake County Health Department. “It’s the most efficient and effective way to do that for people who cannot afford or may not be able to go to routine dental visits.”
But while health officials say it’s possible they’ll see an uptick in cavities in regions currently fluoridating their water, others see the bill as an opportunity. Most of rural Utah has already stopped adding the mineral to the public water supply.
Fluoride is a hot topic now, and with the May 7 deadline approaching, it gives public health experts a chance to educate communities, they say.
“It’s an opportunity for our more rural communities. Other than Brigham City, none of our rural communities have been adding fluoride to the water. So this is bringing more attention to how important fluoride is and giving them access to get it, that they may not have known they needed,” said State Dental Director Stacey Swilling.
This story was republished from Utah News Dispatch, read the entire piece here.
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About the Author
Kyle Dunphey covers politics, public safety and the environment for Utah News Dispatch. He was named Best Newspaper Reporter by the Utah Society of Professional Journalists in 2023 for his work on crime and immigration at the Deseret News.
