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A decades-old debate over fluoride, a mineral many cities add to their water supply to strengthen people's teeth, has been reenergized. Robert F. Kennedy Jr., President Trump's pick to run the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, wants to stop water fluoridation, an idea that he reiterated during his recent confirmation hearing. A Kansas town narrowly resolved its battle over fluoride and could be an example for other towns. Reporter Bek Shackelford-Nwanganga of the Kansas News Service has more.
BEK SHACKELFORD-NWANGANGA, BYLINE: Fluoride is naturally found in water, but city water departments will add more of the mineral if they find there's not enough. Typically, it's a small amount like adding a teaspoon of fluoride to a swimming pool full of water, according to oral health organizations. The American Dental Association touts its effectiveness in an online video.
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UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: When these fluoride compounds are in your mouth, they can actually make your teeth stronger and prevent cavities.
SHACKELFORD-NWANGANGA: But not everyone believes fluoride is safe, like Robert F. Kennedy Jr. He's claimed that fluoride can cause various health issues, including bone cancer and arthritis. Fluoridation was up for a vote in Abilene, Kansas, when city commissioners voted 3 to 2 last year to stop adding fluoride to the city's water supply. Commissioner Trevor Witt was one of the opposing votes.
TREVOR WITT: My main point and rationale for this is that it's not critical to the safety of the water supply.
SHACKELFORD-NWANGANGA: Abilene's mayor, Brandon Rein, says the city started studying the issue after a resident reached out concerned about fluoride safety. But he, like Commissioner Witt, voted against adding fluoride.
BRANDON REIN: We're providing safe and clean drinking water. In my opinion, fluoridation does nothing to enhance the safety or cleanliness of the water supply in the city of Abilene.
SHACKELFORD-NWANGANGA: This was an issue decades earlier in the 1990s. Rein says that's when Abilene residents voted against water fluoridation, but the city commission ignored the vote and started adding the chemical.
BEATRICE BRITTAN: So as we're walking through the lobby here...
SHACKELFORD-NWANGANGA: Beatrice Brittan grew up in Abilene. She moved away for college and returned after about 15 years. She opened her dental office in Abilene early last year. When Brittan heard about the city commission's vote to stop fluoridation, she says she wanted to let the public know what was happening and why it mattered.
BRITTAN: So I wrote a letter to the editor. It was published in the newspaper. And then over the course of the next two weeks, I was able to meet with four of the five commissioners.
SHACKELFORD-NWANGANGA: Brittan told city commissioners stopping water fluoridation would be a mistake. She says that even though fluoride comes from other sources, like toothpaste, the level of the chemical used in tap water is still a helpful defense against cavities.
BRITTAN: Studies have shown that, on average, areas that de-fluoridate their water, you can expect the average person to get two to three more cavities per person, per year.
SHACKELFORD-NWANGANGA: Brittan also says tooth decay can lead to other health problems. Kids and adults miss work or school because of it. She wasn't the only one concerned. Some of her patients were troubled, too, about the possibility of losing fluoride in the city's water supply. And about a month later, the commission reversed its decision. The vote, again, was 3 to 2, but this time to reinstate water fluoridation. Mayor Rein was still opposed but says his vote had nothing to do with its safety or efficacy. He says he'd prefer a citywide vote on the issue instead of commissioners deciding the matter.
REIN: I don't believe that it's the role of a governing body to mandate elective health decisions onto the citizens.
SHACKELFORD-NWANGANGA: Tanya Dorf Brunner is the executive director of Oral Health, Kansas, a statewide nonprofit that advocates for better dental health outcomes. She says she was happy Abilene reversed its decision to end fluoridation. But she suspects threats to public fluoride will come up again, if not in Abilene, then in other towns.
TANYA DORF BRUNNER: It's becoming normalized that people are talking about a possible fear of fluoride. There should be no fear. It's settled science.
SHACKELFORD-NWANGANGA: For NPR News, I'm Bek Shackelford-Nwanganga, in Abilene, Kansas. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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