Fluoride has been added to public water programs in america since 1945 to strengthen tooth enamel and battle off micro organism, finally lowering tooth decay. Mass Common Brigham researchers developed a mannequin to estimate dental well being outcomes for kids if america have been to ban fluoridation of public water. The brand new research, printed in JAMA Well being Discussion board, discovered that banning fluoride would considerably improve dental decay and prices notably for publicly insured and uninsured youngsters.
Fluoride replaces weaker ions inside tooth enamel, making it stronger and fewer vulnerable to tooth decay brought on by micro organism. There’s sturdy proof from different international locations and cities, akin to Calgary in Canada, displaying that when fluoride is eradicated, dental illness will increase. Our research affords a window into what would occur in america if water fluoridation ceased.”
Lisa Simon MD, DMD, senior creator, Division of Common Inner Drugs, Brigham and Girls’s Hospital
Simon and the analysis staff targeted on youngsters for the research, as a result of fluoride strengthens tooth throughout improvement, and extra strong information hyperlinks fluoridated water to oral well being on this age group.
The research used detailed oral well being and water fluoridation information collected from 8,484 youngsters (ages 0-19, 49% women) within the nationally consultant Nationwide Well being and Diet Examination Survey (NHANES). Utilizing this dataset, the researchers developed a microsimulation mannequin to see how banning fluoride from ingesting water would impression oral well being, high quality of life and dental care prices.
The researchers simulated two eventualities over 5- and 10-year durations, which align with coverage planning horizons. First, sustaining present fluoride ranges, and second, eliminating the addition of fluoride to public water.
“Utilizing a simulation mannequin to trace the development of illnesses in present populations, we estimated the impression of eradicating fluoride on the chance of tooth decay and the associated dental care prices, together with remedy for decay and issues from delayed remedy. We ran the simulation 1,000 occasions to see how various factors may have an effect on the outcomes. This strategy helps be certain that our predictions are extra dependable and reflective of real-world variability,” stated first creator Sung Eun Choi, PhD, assistant professor of Oral Well being Coverage & Epidemiology at Harvard Faculty of Dental Drugs.
The researchers discovered that eliminating fluoride elevated the whole variety of decayed tooth by 7.5 share factors, or 25.4 million extra tooth with tooth decay over 5 years (equal to a tooth for one out of each three American youngsters). The variety of fluorosis cases-a discoloring of tooth enamel as a result of extreme fluoride intake-decreased by 0.2 million. In addition they estimated a value of $9.8 billion in further dental care prices over 5 years, which rose to $19.4 billion after 10 years.
“Many of the elevated price may very well be attributed to publicly insured youngsters, which means it might be a direct public well being price,” stated Simon.
The research didn’t mannequin cognitive results from fluoride publicity as present ranges of fluoride in public water usually are not related to worse neurobehavioral outcomes. The researchers notice that their mannequin demonstrates significant, ongoing profit from fluoride at secure ranges at present beneficial by the Environmental Safety Company, the Nationwide Toxicity Program, and the Facilities for Illness Management and Prevention.
“We all know fluoride works. We’re capable of present simply how a lot it really works for many communities and the way a lot folks stand to lose if we do away with it,” stated Simon.
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Journal reference:
Choi, S. E., & Simon, L. (2025). Projected Outcomes of Eradicating Fluoride From US Public Water Methods. JAMA Well being Discussion board. doi.org/10.1001/jamahealthforum.2025.1166.
