Wisconsin Watch partners with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. Read our methodology to learn how we check claims.

Yes.

Recent peer-reviewed studies connect water fluoridation with less dental decay in children.

A Feb. 4 post on a Wisconsin section of Reddit raised the issue. 

The post alluded to a pediatrician’s 2019 statement that dental infections increased significantly after Calgary, Alberta, ended fluoridation in 2011.

Calgary aims to reintroduce fluoridation by March 2025.

In a 2021 study Canadian researchers found that seven years after Calgary ended fluoridation, 65% of Calgary second grade children had cavities, versus 55% in Edmonton, Alberta, which fluoridated.

Canadian researchers in 2024 reported more occurrences of general anesthesia dental treatments among children in non-fluoridated communities.

Israeli researchers in 2024 found treatment of dental problems among children doubled after Israel stopped fluoridation.

The American Dental Association and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control support fluoridation.

U.S. Health Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr. has advocated for ending fluoridation.

About 84% of Wisconsinites had fluoridated water in 2024, down from 87% in 2022, as more communities stopped fluoridating water systems.

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.

Sources

• Reddit: Sunnysideup2day post
• Canadian Broadcasting Corp.: 'Children are suffering' as Calgary's 60+ year fluoride debate drags on, bioethicist says
• Minnesota Star Tribune: RFK Jr. says fluoride ‘is on its way out.’ Here’s why Minnesota uses it, and what the risks are.
• City of Calgary: Fluoride in Calgary's water
• Canadian Journal of Public Health: Community water fluoride cessation and rate of caries-related pediatric dental treatments under general anesthesia in Alberta, Canada
• Community Dentistry and Oral Epidemiology journal: Fluoridation cessation and children’s dental caries: A 7‐year follow‐up evaluation of Grade 2 schoolchildren in Calgary and Edmonton, Canada
• Israel Journal of Health Policy Research: The effect of cessation of drinking water fluoridation on dental restorations and crowns in children aged 3-5 years in Israel – a retrospective study
• X: Robert Kennedy Jr. post
• Reuters: Fluoride: What is it and why does RFK Jr want it removed from water?
• Wisconsin Watch: https://wisconsinwatch.org/2024/11/wisconsin-fluoride-water-health-cdc-dental-environment-data/
• American Dental Association: Community Water Fluoridation is Effective at Preventing Cavities
• U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Community Water Fluoridation Recommendations
• PolitiFact: Does fluoride cause cancer, IQ loss and more? Fact-checking Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s claim
• FactCheck.org: CDC, Experts Say Fluoridated Water Is Safe, Contrary to RFK Jr.’s Warnings
• Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: More Wisconsin communities rejecting fluoride in water. Health groups say fears unfounded.
• Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews: Water fluoridation for the prevention of dental caries
• California Deptartment of Public Health fluoridation consultant/University of California San Francisco dentistry professor Howard Pollick: Email

Do recent studies link water fluoridation with less dental decay in children? is a post from Wisconsin Watch, a non-profit investigative news site covering Wisconsin since 2009. Please consider making a contribution to support our journalism.