SALT LAKE CITY, Utah — Utah is set to become the first U.S. state to ban fluoride in public water systems, while also making it easier for residents to obtain fluoride supplements if they choose to ingest this chemical element known for fighting tooth decay.
Utah Gov. Spencer Cox announced his intention to sign legislation that would prohibit the addition of fluoride to municipal water supplies. The new law will impact two of the state’s largest counties — Davis and Salt Lake — which stand out as the only two places where fluoride is added to public drinking water.
While Wyoming hasn’t passed a statewide ban, some cities and towns have enacted their own bans, barring the addition of fluoride in drinking water.
“Salt Lake, they are the largest population base in the state receiving fluoride, and their council did come out in support of the bill, and one of their councilwomen testified during committee hearings,” Utah House Rep. Stephanie Gricius, R-Eagle Mountain City, told Cowboy State Daily Thursday.
Gricius said she sponsored the legislation after a constituent approached her with concerns about fluoride.
“I've been working on it since the beginning of last year, and we started doing a ton of research,” said Gricius. “There are more types of fluoride in existence than I even knew about. I just thought fluoride was fluoride. It turns out that's not the case. This constituent sent me down this rabbit hole.”
“This is a medical freedom issue,” added Gricius. “I don't believe that the government should be mass medicating people. So now any Utahn can walk into a pharmacy and a pharmacist can prescribe those sodium fluoride supplements if someone wants it. So we didn't take away anyone's choice.”
Gricius said during testimony in support of her bill, legislators heard from those harmed by fluorosilicic acid, the substance used by municipal water systems to add fluoride to the drinking water.
“We had a water district operator whose lungs had been damaged from the improper handling of the fluorosilicic acid,” said Gricius. “We also had a spill in Sandy, Utah, several years ago and a teenage boy who was injured and hospitalized.”
“We were actually able to pull really good Utah specific data on tooth decay,” continued Gricius. “And there is not a significant difference between our counties that do add fluoride and our counties that don't.”
Wyoming Communities Already Opt Out
A 2021 study from the Fluoride Action Network listed several cities and towns across Wyoming that do not add fluoride to local drinking water, including Casper and Evanston, just across the state line from Utah.
Employees at the public works departments in Evanston and Casper confirmed these cities do not fluoridate local drinking water.
Neither does Thermopolis. It was running low on its supply of fluoride additives late last year and according to the city’s mayor, some figured instead of ordering more, it was time to give up the practice altogether.
Mayor Adam Estenson told Cowboy State Daily that the town council passed an ordinance on its third reading to remove fluoride from the municipal drinking water. Then starting Dec. 12, fluoride was no longer added to the local water supply.
Estenson said he was alerted to the issue when his brother showed up for a visit with a supply of fluoride-free water from a spring in Minnesota. The mayor said his brother figured it was better to bring his own drinking water and avoid sipping on fluoride-infused water from the taps of Thermopolis.
“We had a really good conversation here in Thermopolis about: Is it the town's business to essentially administer a medical treatment?” said Estenson. “And we came to the conclusion that no, it's not because it's mass dosing.”
Part Of National Trend?
The issue of fluoride in public water supplies blew up on the presidential campaign trail last year when then candidates Robert F. Kennedy and Donald Trump endorsed fluoride bans.
That triggered a response from the American Dental Association, which stated in a press release it, “remains staunchly in support of community water fluoridation at optimal levels to help prevent tooth decay.”
Proponents claim fluoride prevents tooth decay and saves billions in oral healthcare costs each year. Opponents point to concerns about fluoride exposure being linked to thyroid dysfunction, cardiovascular problems and potential impacts on cognitive development.
The American Cancer Society looked at fluoride’s connection to bone cancer, and determined researchers, “have not found a strong link to cancer.”
It’s Going To Cost Us
“It is a problem,” Dr. Erica Tonso, president of the Wyoming Dental Association, told Cowboy State Daily, responding to news of the fluoride ban in Utah.
“The financial impact on the state and counties will be huge,” said Tonso, who researched the issue last year because it came up in her discussions with community members in Laramie County.
Tonso encountered pushback, with proponents of a fluoride ban stating that toothbrushes and toothpaste are widely available. But in her experience running the Laramie County Give Kids A Smile program, she’s witnessed 15-year-old dental patients being handed their first toothbrush.
“You need everything possible to help that population of underserved individuals,” said Tonso, adding that according to her research, countries that have banned fluoride eventually reverse course.
“They end up approximately 15 years later putting it back in the water and they realize the financial impact,” said Tonso. “It will not happen overnight. This will take years to see the impact.”
David Madison can be reached at david@cowboystatedaily.com.
