U.S. adults appear divided on community water fluoridation, as debate continues about whether fluoride should be added to public drinking water, according to survey results from the University of Pennsylvania Annenberg Public Policy Center (APPC).
Furthermore, the findings emerge during a period of increased scrutiny of community water fluoridation, fueled by criticism from U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and growing support for the Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) movement, according to the June 11 article.
“Even so, there is widespread trust in the American Dental Association, which reports that 80 years of research shows community water fluoridation to be safe and 'the single most effective public health measure to prevent tooth decay,'” Patrick E. Jamieson, PhD, director of APPC’s Annenberg Health and Risk Communication Institute, said in the article.
For decades, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has supported community water fluoridation as a safe and cost-effective strategy for preventing tooth decay and reducing cavity rates. However, the issue has gained renewed attention after Kennedy criticized fluoride and expressed support for reversing recommendations supporting the practice.
A survey found that 43% of U.S. adults favor water fluoridation, 26% oppose it, and 30% neither support nor oppose it. Among supporters of the MAHA movement, opposition exceeds support for fluoridation (41% versus 26%), whereas non-supporters are more likely to favor fluoridation than oppose it (63% versus 11%). Also, MAHA supporters are more likely to believe fluoridated water negatively affects public health (30% versus 7%), while non-supporters are twice as likely to view water fluoridation positively (61% versus 30%), according to the story.
When asked about ending the practice, 40% of respondents opposed the policy, 28% favored it, and 32% were neutral. Support for ending water fluoridation was substantially higher among MAHA supporters than non-supporters (50% versus 15%). Public trust in information about fluoride was considerably higher for the ADA than for Kennedy, with 74% expressing confidence in the ADA compared with 34% in Kennedy.
“These overall numbers obscure the finding that many MAHA supporters express confidence in both sources, reflecting how differently Americans evaluate health information depending on their broader views,” Ken Winneg, APPC’s managing director of survey research, added.
