By
Absurd conspiracy theories about fluoride in drinking water are taking hold in the Republican Party.
On Thursday, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis became the second governor to sign a bill banning the widely used practice of introducing fluoride in drinking water, after Utah Gov. Spencer Cox, a fellow Republican, did so in March.
Experts, including at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and major medical associations, have touted the benefits of fluoride in water for decades, particularly for children, to help reduce cavities and prevent tooth decay. In fact, you can read this link for information about the benefits for rural communities, many of which have voted heavily for Donald Trump and other Republicans in past elections.
And that behavior is giving Republicans at the state level the green light to engage in similar health-related delusion.
But Trump has accelerated what I’ve come to see as the stupefaction — or, more simply, the dumbing down — of America, as his administration has spurned and defunded various medical research programs and embraced dangerous, conspiratorial thinking when it comes to health measures. And that behavior is giving Republicans at the state level the green light to engage in similar health-related delusion.
The Wall Street Journal’s MAGA-friendly editorial board recently criticized Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton for launching a conspiracy theory-fueled investigation into two toothpaste companies, Colgate-Palmolive and Procter & Gamble. The Republican AG initiated the probe over baseless claims, saying that the companies are “marketing toothpaste products to parents and children in ways that are misleading, deceptive, and dangerous.”
The Journal’s editorial board debunked Paxton’s accusation:
He’s out to nail what he thinks is the vast fluoride toothpaste conspiracy. Mr. Paxton claims there is a “statistically significant association” between children who ingested too much fluoride and lower IQ scores. He says the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends only a “rice-sized ‘smear’” for three-years old and the American Dental Association (ADA) recommends “no more than a pea-sized amount” for children between three and six.
Guess who else endorses the pea-sized amount? The toothpaste sellers, who put the same recommendation clear as day on their children’s toothpaste labels. The label on Crest Kids toothpaste says “use a pea-sized amount in children under 6.”
The op-ed went on to slam opposition to fluoridated water, as well:
Mr. Paxton points to a 2024 National Toxicology Program study to suggest that fluoride is harming children, but the ADA says the study considered children who received fluoride levels twice what’s in drinking water. Fluoride has improved oral health, especially in rural communities. American Dental Association President Brett Kessler says dentists “see on a daily basis the benefits of fluoride—from both drinking fluoridated water and topically in products like fluoride toothpaste.”
And the op-ed notes that Paxton may have some ulterior motives in going on this conspiratorial fishing expedition that parrots claims made by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., saying that Paxton “is running against incumbent GOP Sen. John Cornyn, and he must figure there are primary votes in mimicking” Kennedy.
Indeed, politics seem to be the motivation behind this growing anti-fluoride movement. And residents in the states under Republicans’ control could bear the brunt of their anti-scientific ways.