Fluoride Action Network

FAN seeks to broaden awareness about the toxicity of fluoride compounds among citizens, scientists, and policymakers alike.

[Fluoride Action Network @FluorideAction]

For nearly 25 years, the Fluoride Action Network has been the leading educational organization on fluoride toxicity.

2025 was our biggest year ever and we expect 2026 to go even harder.

Financial support from those who believe in this mission is crucial to our ability to continue this work.

Consider making a tax-deductible donation to FAN today.

Your donation will go directly to funding our education, advocacy, and legal work.

Thanks for your support!

[Fluoride Action Network @FluorideAction]

WASHINGTON STATE - "The Wahkiakum County PUD Commissioners... voted to discontinue fluoridation in the Cathlamet water system, approving Resolution No. 1313 after months of public discussion and polling that officials said showed roughly 60 percent of customers opposed it.

“We’ve learned a lot of information from both sides of the discussion,” said Commissioner Dennis Reid.

“We are out of the fluoride business.”

[Fluoride Action Network @FluorideAction]

TOCCOA, GEORGIA - "The addition of fluoride to the City's drinking water system has been temporarily suspended due to fluoride supply shortages.

The city has no control in the supply or production of fluoride; thus, it is unknown when the supply shortage will end."

[Fluoride Action Network @FluorideAction]

The recent Ninth Circuit ruling on fluoride changed the legal trajectory of the case, but it did not resolve the scientific debate.

If anything, it exposed how badly the country now needs something it still lacks: an independent, trusted evaluation of the totality of evidence on fluoride’s risks and benefits.

By @BrucePLanphear

The appeals court did not conclude that fluoride is safe, nor did it reject the growing body of studies linking higher fluoride exposure with lower IQ in children.

Instead, the court ruled that Judge Edward Chen went too far procedurally when he delayed the case to await newer scientific evidence—including the National Toxicology Program review—and then incorporated that evidence into a second phase of the trial.

In short, the appellate court concluded that the case should have been decided using the original trial record rather than newer evidence that emerged afterward.

That is why this moment demands something more than prolonged regulatory delay or courtroom battles over procedure.

The goal should not be to “win” the fluoride debate. It should be to honestly evaluate the totality of evidence: neurodevelopmental risks, effectiveness for preventing tooth decay in the modern era, potential effects on bone and thyroid function, susceptible populations, biomarkers of exposure, and the implications of cumulative fluoride intake from multiple sources.

Public trust depends not on certainty, but on transparency, independence, and a willingness to follow the evidence wherever it leads.

[Fluoride Action Network @FluorideAction]

TENNESSEE - “The main feedback we get locally is from customers that call our chief water plant operator and want to know if we put fluoride in the system, and the vast majority of those people are opposed to it being in there,” said Loudon Utilities General Manager Kevin Goins.

Goins said Loudon Utilities does not have a position on the fluoridation of water, and in his position as general manager, he provides the board with information that is both for and against putting fluoride in the water.

Fluoride Action Network Executive Director Stuart Cooper said some people are already pushing back against fluoride.

“You’ve seen Florida banned the practice, Utah banned it and Louisiana is on the verge of ending their state mandate and just letting communities end it on a will. So, you’re going to see more of this,” said Cooper.

The Loudon Utilities Board will hold the public meeting on Monday, June 8."

[Fluoride Action Network @FluorideAction]

LOUISIANA - "Louisiana communities are poised to gain the power to remove added fluoride from their local public drinking water systems.

A bill carried by Sen. Mike Fesi, R-Houma, cleared its final legislative hurdle Wednesday.

If it receives Gov. Jeff Landry’s signature, the legislation would allow a local governing body to hold an election and let voters decide if they want to keep fluoride in their water system.

It would replace existing law that requires 15% of voters in a particular service area to petition for an election to keep fluoride from being added to a drinking water system that never had it."

[Fluoride Action Network @FluorideAction]

MISSISSIPPI - "North Lamar Water Association stopped adding fluoride to its drinking water, joining a growing list of Mississippi water systems ending fluoridation.

The association’s notice, postmarked May 5, says its board voted to stop fluoridation April 6, citing supply, safety, testing and equipment concerns.

The water system serves about 12,500 residents in Lamar County.

North Lamar Water Association is the third southeast Mississippi water system to end fluoridation.

Sunrise Utility Association in Forrest County ended fluoridation in late 2025 and Lucedale announced in April that it would stop fluoridating its municipal water system May 15. Mississippi Today reported in January that Poplarville was among 26 more Mississippi systems in the process of discontinuing fluoride treatment."

[Fluoride Action Network @FluorideAction]

Full study here: https://t.co/yZPUweSujT

[Fluoride Action Network @FluorideAction]

NEW STUDY - Japan Sees 40-Year Decline in Cavities Without Using Fluoride

“Japan experienced a near-continuous decline in caries among 12-year-olds over approximately 40 years… well below levels historically reported in populations exposed to systemic fluoride through community water fluoridation.

This decline occurred without community water fluoridation and largely before the approval of high-fluoride toothpaste in 2017 and its recommendation for school-aged children in 2023.

Japan represents a rare natural social experiment demonstrating that sustained population-level caries reduction can occur through cumulative non-systemic fluoride pathways.

These findings suggest fluoride-centered frameworks alone may not fully explain long-term population trends and support a broader multicausal approach to caries prevention.”

[Fluoride Action Network @FluorideAction]

https://t.co/FzcQCMyMQq

[Michael Connett @michaelpconnett]

The EPA claims to want to Make America Healthy Again.

It had an opportunity to do just that on the fluoride issue. In the fall of 2024, a federal district court found (after hearing extensive expert testimony) that adding fluoride to water poses an unreasonable risk of neurological harm in children, and ordered EPA to eliminate this risk.

In the final days of the Biden administration, the EPA announced (as expected) its intention to appeal this landmark decision. This announcement, however, had no binding effect on Lee Zeldin and the new administration.

Zeldin had complete discretion to stand down on the appeal, and to follow the court's order to protect Americans from the health risks posed by fluoridation. Zeldin, however, chose to continue with the appeal.

Despite repeated pleas from the MAHA community, Zeldin and the EPA have persisted with its odious appeal. And now, based on a procedural technicality, a federal appeals court has granted Zeldin's request to vacate the district court's order.

EPA has thus officially undone a historic opportunity to protect the public from a toxic chemical added to most American water supplies (and all beverages and foods made with the water).

There are many ways to describe EPA's conduct here, but Making America Healthy Again is not one of them.

@SecKennedy @LeeMZeldin @FluorideAction @FluorideLawsuit

[Mary S. Holland, Esq. @maryhollandnyc]

A federal court just told a judge to ignore years of fluoride safety data and travel back to 2020. The science didn't change. The courtroom rules did. @CHDTVLive @ChildrensHD @BrianHookerPhD

For the complete Defender story: https://t.co/7MS3sTzBBs

[Fluoride Action Network @FluorideAction]

Appellate Court Vacates Fluoride Lawsuit Ruling

Bad News. Today the Ninth Circuit issued its decision in the appeal of our fluoride lawsuit.

The Court vacated Judge Chen’s decision and remanded with an instruction that Judge Chen make his decision based solely on the first trial record.

The opinion itself is less than 7 pages of text, which is very brief - and almost insulting in its brevity. With barely any analysis, the Court argued that Judge Chen violated the “party presentation” principle in our trial.

Our attorneys are reviewing next steps which may include a petition to the Supreme Court to review the decision.

@michaelpconnett

[Fluoride Action Network @FluorideAction]

UPDATE - "Hanover officials will decide the fate of fluoride in the Hanover area's drinking water with a final vote during the May 20 meeting of their Finance and Personnel Committee.

Key Points:

* Hanover council is scheduled to make a final decision on removing fluoride from the area's drinking water.

* The final vote will occur during the Finance and Personnel Committee meeting on May 20, 2026.

* Hanover has added fluoride to its public water system since 1973 to prevent tooth decay.

While council had been expected to vote on the proposed removal of fluoride from the Hanover water system in votes on May 20 as well as during the full meeting of council on May 27, the May 20 agenda noted that the May 20 vote was instead the "final action" for the proposal."

[Fluoride Action Network @FluorideAction]

PENNSYLVANIA - "Hanover Borough’s Water and Sewer Committee is scheduled to discuss potentially removing the chemical at the next public meeting on Thursday.

Chambersburg Borough Council voted to no longer add fluoride to its public water system earlier this week.

Hanover’s Director of Planning and Engineering, Eric Mains, cited supply and costs as reasons for ending the practice at the last town hall meeting.

The topic is expected to be discussed at the borough’s next town hall meeting on the May 27, and it is unknown if a final decision will be made."

[Fluoride Action Network @FluorideAction]

WISCONSIN - "Fluoride will once again be added to DeForest’s water supply.

That’s after trustees voted 4-2 Tuesday to reintroduce that mineral, as recommended by numerous dental and public health associations.

The board’s vote follows an April 7 election, which saw the ouster of Taysheedra Allen, a former trustee who previously voted against fluoridation."

[Fluoride Action Network @FluorideAction]

Full study here: https://t.co/CvxympK6eX

[Fluoride Action Network @FluorideAction]

NEW STUDY - Combined Fluoride and Lead Exposure Reduces Bone Health in Youth

"This study demonstrates that exposure to fluoride and lead is associated with changes in BMD among youth. Co-exposure to fluoride and lead exacerbates changes in BMD more than single exposure, suggesting synergistic effects on bone impairment."

Study Highlights:

• Blood levels of fluoride and lead had sex differences, which were higher in boys.

• Fluoride exposure exhibited a U-shaped, non-linear relationship with BMD.

• Co-exposure to fluoride and lead exacerbated changes in BMD.

[Fluoride Action Network @FluorideAction]

PENNSYLVANIA - "Hanover Borough’s Water and Sewer Committee is scheduled to discuss potentially removing the chemical at the next public meeting on Thursday.

Chambersburg Borough Council voted to no longer add fluoride to its public water system earlier this week.

Hanover’s Director of Planning and Engineering, Eric Mains, cited supply and costs as reasons for ending the practice at the last town hall meeting.

The topic is expected to be discussed at the borough’s next town hall meeting on the May 27, and it is unknown if a final decision will be made."

[Fluoride Action Network @FluorideAction]

PENNSYLVANIA - "Chambersburg Borough Council voted on party lines Monday night, May 12 with a tiebreaker from the mayor, to end the town’s 62-year-old public water fluoridation program.

Following multiple meetings and lengthy public comment periods in which most residents supported keeping fluoride, Mayor Ken Hock voted against the project needed to maintain the fluoridation program.

Hock, a Republican, said he agrees with the science of fluoride and its public health benefits but does not believe the project would be a smart use of money because most people, particularly children, do not drink enough tap water for it to have an impact.

Once Chambersburg’s fluoridation program ends, only two of Franklin County’s more than 30 public water systems will have fluoride."