Utah On Wednesday it will become the first state in the United States to prohibit fluoride in public drinking water. Dentists Those who treat children and low -income patients say they are preparing to increase tooth decay among the most vulnerable people in the state.
The Republican Ruler in Utah, Spencer Cox, signed the law against the recommendation of many dentists and national health experts who warned against removing fluoride to harm teeth growth, especially in young patients without regular access to dental care.
The sponsor of the bill, Republican Republican Stephanie Grissius, said that she does not ignore that fluoride could have some benefits but believes that the government should not give this by the government without their enlightened consent.
Robert F. Kennedy Junior, Minister of Health in the United States, praised Amrera for being the first Tasman -prohibited country and said he was planning to direct the centers of control and prevention control (CDC) to stop recommending the flaw in the country.
Florida can soon become the second country that prohibits fluoride under a draft law pending the signing of its Republican Governor, Ron Desantis. The legislative bodies in Ohio and South Carolina are studying similar measures.
The majority of Utah water systems have not already added fluoride. The state ranked 44th in the country for a percentage of residents receiving pharaoh water, with about two of every five they received in 2022, according to the data of the Center for Disease Control. The law will affect about 1.6 million people in Salt Lake City and other places in the north of Utah who are losing fluid, state officials.
Solt Lake City dentists said during the past week that many patients were not aware of the next ban, and most of them did not realize that the city had been adding Florid to drinking water for nearly two decades.
“I didn’t know a ban,” said Nuwi Vigagaroa, the patient at Salt Lake donated dental services, a clinic that provides free or dramatically reduced treatment for low -income population. “Well, this is not good. I don’t think this is good at all.”
In the donor dentistry, service providers expect a long -term waiting list for children’s procedures to grow significantly and need them to rise volunteer dentists. Sasha Harvey, Executive Director of the Club, said that the effects of the ban on children’s teeth are likely to be visible during the next year.
“Currently, we are unifying until August and September for some of the three -year -old children, who are four years old, who suffer from a lot of pain to the point that they cannot eat it properly, and there is nothing that we can only do to tell parents:” You must wait. “
The fluorescence process includes completing the low levels of fluoride that occurs naturally in most water to reach 0.7 mg per liter recommended by the Diseases Control Center to prevent the cavity. water Fluoride discharge plants in water in liquid or powder form are often used dose pumps to adjust levels.
Nearly two -thirds of the American population receives the phantom drinking water, according to health officials. It was long considered among the greatest public health achievements in the last century.
Fluoride protects teeth and reduces cavities by replacing lost minerals during natural corrosion, according to the Center for Disease Control. It is especially important for children whose teeth are still developing. For some low -income families, overall drinking water that contains fluoride may be the only source of preventive dental care.
Some supporters of the Utah State Law referred to studies that link high levels of fluoride exposure to the disease and low intelligence in children. National institutes for health He says it is “actually impossible” to have a toxic dose of fluoride added to water or toothpaste at standard levels.
The ruler said that, like many people in Utah, his children grew up and grew up in a society without mobilized water. Before signing the draft law, Cox said that there is no difference in health results between societies with fluoride and without it – a statement that Utah’s dentists say is a mistake.
“Any dentist can look at the mouth of someone in Utah and tell us exactly where he grew up. Did you grow up in a Mufloura area or an unaccounted area? We can say at the level of decomposition,” said Dr. James Baker, a pediatrician at Utah University in Solt Lake.
Harvey said that the law turns responsibility towards individuals, which means that all the residents of Utah state will need to be proactive on their oral health. Most patients in their clinic only come when dental soreness becomes unbearable, and many cannot spare the few monthly dollars to buy fluoride supplements to add them to drinking water at home.
Vigagaroa, a patient with a free dental clinic, said that other expenses take priority.
Baker said that fluoride toothpaste alone is not enough for children because it does not penetrate the outer layer of the tooth. When a person regularly absorbs the phased water, their tooth saliva baths in fluoride all day and makes them stronger.
Baker said that he recommends that Utah fathers add fluoride supplements to drinking water to their children. But for families that do not visit doctors regularly, this may be difficult.
Fluoride tablets require a prescription from a doctor or dentist. Utah state providers are working to provide the supplement to the table, but Baker said that the change may be months or years away.
