Opinion: Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s beliefs on fluoride will hurt California’s kids

As Robert F. Kennedy Jr. settles into his role as secretary of Health and Human Services, it will be accompanied by a palpable lack of comfort for many families with kids across California. His long history of promoting misinformation about vaccines has been well-documented, and that prioritization of personal ideology over evidence-based science has left many families wondering if their kids will lose access to critical vaccinations.

One aspect of Kennedy’s ideology not getting as much attention though, is his debunked beliefs on the effects fluoride has in drinking water. And if those beliefs turn to actions, it could pour fuel on the already dangerous situation concerning the oral health of California’s kids.

Kennedy has made it a personal crusade to end community water fluoridation, a public health measure widely used for decades that adds fluoride to public water systems to help prevent tooth decay. His claim is fluoride can cause kids’ IQ to decrease or neurological damage, despite the same study he references making clear there’s zero evidence fluoride has negative effects at the lower levels used in fluoridation. It’s a claim that aligns with Kennedy’s tendency to lean into conspiracy theories and stories from unreliable messengers rather than evidence reported by scientists.

That evidence, though, has shown overwhelmingly that fluoride has immensely positive results on kids’ oral health.  A 15-year study showed dental cavities were reduced by 50% to 70% among children who lived in communities with fluoridated water. These communities then save an average of $32 per person per year by avoiding dental treatments. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention even named water fluoridation one of the 10 greatest public health interventions in the 20th century. The proof that fluoride leads to kids having healthier teeth is as clear as the water it’s flowing in.

Now is an extremely dangerous time to turn off the faucets. Throughout California, kids are really struggling to keep their teeth healthy — we rank third worst among all states for kids with tooth decay or cavities, according to Children Now’s 2024 California Children’s Report Card. And the negative effects of tooth decay aren’t just confined to health. Kids with dental pain and cavities are nearly three times more likely to miss school because of it. So in fact, it’s unhealthy teeth that are contributing to kids’ decline in education performance (not fluoride, as Kennedy would want you to believe).

Fluoride could dramatically improve kids’ teeth statewide — what’s prevented that has been accessibility. Medi-Cal currently allows reimbursement for fluoride treatment only if it’s applied by a dentist or other qualified health professional, typically in primary care settings. But fewer than half of kids in Medi-Cal see a dentist every year, so this care isn’t taking place nearly enough. A solution is to provide fluoride treatment at kids’ schools or other public health settings. But due to the sheer number of kids in the state and lack of dentist availability, that’d require other people directed by dentists to be covered and able to get kids fluoride — which they currently aren’t.

An important bill proposed in the California Legislature would fix this. The “Respecting Fluoride for Kids Act,” introduced by Assemblymember Mia Bonta, D-Oakland, and sponsored by Children Now, would allow someone working for or under contract with a Medi-Cal doctor or dentist to apply fluoride to kids and get reimbursed, greatly increasing kids’ opportunities to get healthier teeth. It would also require Medi-Cal and commercial plans to cover fluoride treatment in primary care settings for all kids under 21 years old, so more kids can receive this benefit.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s affinity for conspiracy theories over concrete evidence will at the very least cause uncertainty for many California families, and at worst the removal of proven health treatments like fluoride. The solution is not to wait to see where the water runs. As the third worst state in the country at keeping kids’ teeth healthy, we can’t afford to backtrack on a program that’s working. We must act now to increase access to fluoride, strengthen our kids’ smiles, and keep them in school ready to learn.

Espejo is senior managing director of health at Children Now, a California-based nonprofit that works to improve children’s well-being. She lives in Alameda County.