Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the health and human services secretary, is all for removing fluoride from public drinking water—even if that means yanking some teeth out of the mouths of lower-income children.
“What has been the response from dentists in America who may be concerned that some children in lower incomes, in particular, don’t get those regular dental preventative-type situations where they can go in and get their teeth … treated against cavities?” Fox News host Harris Faulkner asked Kennedy on Thursday.
“It is an issue, it’s a balance,” he responded. “You’re going to see probably slightly more cavities.”
Two states, Florida and Utah, have recently banned the added mineral from their public water sources, but Kennedy seeks to take the measure nationwide.
Kennedy and other “Make American Healthy Again” fanatics push the narrative that water fluoridation stunts brain development and causes other developmental problems in young children.
But this theory didn’t start with them. Studies came out in the 2000s suggesting that fluoride in the water might be causing more harm than good, kicking off a decades-long court battle between the Environmental Protection Agency and those trying to remove the additive.
Even during Trump’s first term, the administration shooed away groups trying to remove fluoride. However, this past September, a federal judge ruled in favor of scientific findings, giving some legitimacy to concerns over the impact of fluoride on young children.
This court case is still ongoing today.
And while the controversy of fluoridation is a lengthy and debatable one, one of Kennedy’s consistent pitfalls of his MAHA agenda is how his changes seem to impact America’s poorest and most vulnerable. For instance, despite a lack of scientific evidence, Kennedy has pushed to remove COVID-19 vaccine recommendations for pregnant women and young children.
This, along with the lack of fluoride, may put younger children and lower-income families who aren’t regularly getting health or dental check-ins at a higher risk of other preventable health issues.