#fluoride

Why Calgary reversed its decision on fluoride after 10 years

Dec. 6, 2024

After a decade without fluoride, Calgary had seen enough. The city’s reversal offers a critical perspective for communities debating the future of water fluoridation.

Amelia Williamson DeStefano, Group Editorial Director

What could happen if communities in the United States begin to remove fluoride from their drinking water? Its fate is still uncertain, but a city in Canada of 1.4 million has given us one possible outcome.

Back in 2011, city counselors in Calgary voted to remove fluoride from the water supply over concerns it was too expensive, says a 12/6 article in The Times.  Now, 13 years later, they’re putting it back in.

What happened in Calgary

The Times article details what happened in Calgary after fluoride was removed: “multiple studies” showed that caries and caries treatments increased in children in the subsequent years. The number of children receiving IV antibiotics for dental infections at Alberta Children’s Hospital increased by 700% from 2011 to 2018. The majority of these patients were under five years old.

In a 2021 referendum, Calgary voters elected to put fluoride back in the water, and completion is due early next year.

One dentist interviewed by The Times observed “a rise in decalcification along the gum line,” rather than the usual decay on biting surfaces of teeth that is associated with a caries-producing diet.

Other studies noted that more children required general anesthesia for their dental procedures during this time.

The article also notes that the connection of fluoride and decay is not always clear-cut. For example, high-income countries such as Denmark and Belgium don’t fluoridate their water, but have better dental health than the United States. Both these countries provide universal dental coverage, including for children.

How a Trump administration could end water fluoridation

As Calgary restores fluoride, the US is seeing efforts to widely remove it. President Elect Donald Trump nominated an outspoken fluoride opponent, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., for health secretary. They’ve said they’d advise communities to remove fluoride on Inauguration Day.