Portland's fluoride stance gains national traction
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Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios
Portland is no longer an outlier in its rejection of fluoride in drinking water. Recent bans in two states have put the city in step with a growing national trend — one increasingly shaped by politics.
Why it matters: Dentists in Portland say they have long seen higher cavity rates and burdens on low-income families to attain adequate oral health linked to the lack of fluoridation.
Catch up quick: Portland has never fluoridated its water. Voters have rejected proposals to do so four times since the 1950s, most recently in 2013.
- Despite strong monetary support and pleas from public health officials, each effort has been met with fierce local opposition from residents who take pride in personal choice and the city's famously pure Bull Run Watershed.
The latest: Utah became the first state in the U.S. to ban adding fluoride to public water systems last month, and Florida will follow suit starting July 1.
- Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the nation's top health official, has called for an end of fluoridated drinking water and directed regulators to phase out ingestible fluoride supplements.
Between the lines: Fluoride is a naturally occurring mineral that plays a crucial role in strengthening tooth enamel and preventing cavities, according to the American Dental Association.
What they're saying: Barry Taylor, executive director of the Oregon Dental Association, said he can tell whether the person sitting in his chair grew up in Portland.
- "You can make a very fairly accurate educated guess by the number of cavities they have," he told Axios.
By the numbers: Statewide, just 26% of Oregon residents have access to water with added fluoride, ranking 49th among U.S. states, per the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
- Nearly half of Oregon third graders had cavities in 2017, according to the most recent data from the Oregon Health Authority.
- The state's poor and minority populations are also more disproportionately impacted by higher rates of untreated tooth decay, officials say, due to socioeconomic barriers and lack of visits to a dentist.
Reality check: A recent study led by the Harvard School of Dental Medicine projected that removing fluoride from U.S. community water systems could lead to a 7.5% rise in cavities among children and cost $9.8 billion over five years.
The other side: Concerns over water fluoridation have included fluorosis — when growing teeth are exposed to too much fluoride and develop white flecks or spots — as well as reduced IQ in children, though only when levels exceed recommendations.
The bottom line: Taylor predicts more dentists across the country may come across similar tooth decay in children seen in Portland as anti-fluoridation gains momentum.
- "And with the amount of processed sugar that is in our food now compared to 30 years ago, it's just going to compound the problem," he said.