The debate over fluoride in drinking water is hotter than ever, with passionate arguments on both sides. Now, a groundbreaking long-term study is reshaping the conversation and challenging some of the most common concerns.
According to NBC News, researchers found no measurable differences in intelligence or brain function among people who grew up with fluoridated water, even decades later.
The findings directly push back on claims from public figures, including Secretary of Health Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has suggested a link between fluoride and low IQ.
The study, led by sociologist and population health expert Rob Warren, used data from the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study, which followed 10,317 participants over several decades.
He compared individuals raised in communities with fluoridated water to those who were not. Participants took IQ tests at age 16 and then completed additional cognitive assessments at ages 53, 64, 72, and 80.
Across all stages of life, the results showed no significant differences in intelligence or cognitive ability between the two groups.
This is particularly notable because concerns about fluoride's potential impact on IQ were largely based on small studies conducted in regions with fluoride levels far higher than those permitted in the United States.
"There's now good reason to doubt the claim that fluoride causes reduction in IQ," Warren said, per NBC News.
Some communities have banned fluoridation, as have Utah and Florida.
"I've never seen as much pushback to fluoride as I have in these last few years," Meg Lochary, a pediatric dentist in Union County, North Carolina, said, per NBC News. "People are very, very wary of it."
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Save $1,000 this year 💸 Fluoridated water is widely considered one of the most effective and affordable public health measures for preventing tooth decay. Major health organizations estimate that community water fluoridation reduces cavities by about 25%.
"I think that the public can be assured," said Dr. Scott Tomar, head of the department of population oral health at the University of Illinois Chicago. "There is no association with community water fluoridation and any measure of IQ or neurodevelopment."
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