How RFK Jr-backed plan has led to health crisis... and millions of Americans are now at risk

At slightest 25 cardinal Americans unrecorded successful dental deserts - areas wherever dentists are scarce and residents look skyrocketing rates of bony decay, exigency surgeries, and chronic wellness problems.

Dentists pass these issues volition lone worsen with the removal of fluoride from drinking water, which has reduced tooth decay and cavities for implicit 80 years. 

Roughly 230 counties crossed the US deficiency a capable fig of dentists to cater to the fig of radical surviving there, and astir person removed oregon are considering removing fluoride from their water. 

Robert F Kennedy Jr, the existent caput of the Department of Health and Human Services, has often promoted unproven claims that the communal cavity preventative is dangerous. 

The controversy surrounding fluoride stems from a meta-analysis of dozens of studies showing children exposed to higher fluoride levels had little IQ scores compared to those with little vulnerability levels.

Evidence suggests fluoride vulnerability supra 1.5 ppm whitethorn somewhat impact IQ, but h2o fluoridation successful astir of the US ranges from 0.7 to 1.2 ppm, with nary nonstop nexus to IQ nonaccomplishment astatine these levels. 

Dr. Chelsea Perry, a Massachusetts dentist, told DailyMail.com US h2o fluoridation is highly safe. 

She explained that studies linking fluoride to little IQs impact overmuch higher levels than those typically recovered successful regulated US water, specified arsenic successful areas with excessive earthy fluoride similar Colorado Springs, wherever levels are reduced to a harmless scope by the EPA, varying from 0.14 ppm to 1.30 ppm. 

She said: ‘Fluoridation decidedly helps arsenic it's 1 of the astir effectual nationalist wellness tools we person for reducing cavities, particularly successful communities with constricted entree to dental care.'

Around 63 percent of Americans portion fluoridated h2o from assemblage h2o systems. 

Rural states similar Alaska, Montana, Nevada, and North Dakota, which person precocious uninsured rates, person much dental deserts than East Coast states. 

On average, dental deserts person 1 dentist for astir 3,800 people, compared to 1 per 1,470 successful municipality areas. 

A Kaiser Health News probe found, based connected Harvard and CDC data, recovered that 230 agrarian counties, chiefly successful the Midwest and South (such arsenic Texas, Kansas, and Missouri), look a treble load of excessively fewer dentists and nary fluoride successful water.

Dr Jessica Robertson, a pediatric dentist successful agrarian Arizona, told DailyMail.com that a deficiency of added fluoride successful the h2o proviso successful the authorities has wreaked havoc among her patients.

Practicing successful Cottonwood, Lakeside, and Flagstaff, wherever earthy fluoride levels are acold beneath the CDC's recommended 0.7 ppm, she often performs extractions, crowns, and spacers—often nether wide anesthesia—on children arsenic young arsenic five, galore with terrible decay. 

Most radical successful dental deserts bash not person backstage insurance. Around 2.5 cardinal of them are enrolled successful Medicaid, the authorities wellness security programme for the mediocre and disabled. 

Most dentists don't judge Medicaid due to the fact that the authorities reimburses them acold little than backstage insurance, leaving millions to wage for dental attraction retired of pocket. 

A bony extraction tin outgo astir $200 without insurance. A regular cleaning costs astir the same. Fillings tin tally from astir $50 to $250, and a basal canal costs anyplace from $700 to $1,500 retired of pocket.

Researchers astatine the Colorado School of Public Health mapped retired the outgo benefits of fluoridated h2o nationwide, peculiarly to those without insurance.

In 2013, implicit 211 cardinal radical successful the US had entree to fluoridated water, redeeming an estimated $32.19 per idiosyncratic successful cavity prevention. 

After accounting for the $324 cardinal outgo of fluoridation, nett savings totaled $6.5 billion, yielding a $20 instrumentality for each $1 spent connected h2o fluoridation. 

Dr Suparna Mahalaha, a dentist providing attraction to seniors successful Northeast Ohio’s dental deserts, told DailyMail.com that portion fluoridation is 'not a replacement for dental care,' it is 'a captious nationalist wellness measurement that acts arsenic a stopgap to trim decay and forestall much superior problems down the road.’

And a wealth of studies consistently study that fluoridated h2o reduces the hazard of bony decay and cavities. 

In 1956, researchers from Newburgh, New York, tracked the result of adding fluoride to its h2o proviso 10 years prior, the 2nd metropolis successful the federation to bash truthful (after Grand Rapids, Michigan).

Children with lifelong entree to fluoridated h2o had 58 percent little bony decay than those from adjacent Kingston, NY, which had nary fluoride added to its water. 

Even older children successful Newburgh who did not turn up with fluoride inactive had 41 to 52 percent less cavities.

More recently, Alaska's superior city, Juneau, chose to region fluoride from its h2o successful 2007. University of Alaska researchers person pointed to the removal’s devastating effects.

In Juneau, children nether 7 calved aft fluoride was removed had 33 percent much cavity-related procedures, with those calved aft the cessation needing the astir dental attraction and incurring the highest costs, each paid for by taxpayers owed to the study's absorption connected Medicaid patients. 

But now, states are looking to determination distant from fluoride. Utah precocious ruled that it would portion fluoride from its state's drinking h2o systems pursuing concerns raised by RFK Jr. 

Meanwhile, the Florida legislature precocious approved a measurement that would forestall section governments from adding fluoride to water. Cities crossed Florida person already done this. 

Dr Mahalaha added: ‘The overwhelming assemblage of technological grounds supports fluoridation arsenic harmless successful due concentrations and an effectual mode to forestall bony decay.

‘Claims that it lowers IQ are based connected studies with important limitations and are not backed by large wellness organizations similar the CDC, the American Dental Association, oregon the World Health Organization.’

Poor oral wellness tin pb to bony decay, cavities, and abscesses, and implicit time, lend to chronic wellness conditions. 

Gum disease, which causes bleeding and allows bacteria to inflame the gums, tin dispersed to the bloodstream, perchance affecting a large woman’s fetus and starring to premature labour oregon debased commencement weight. 

It is besides linked to bosom disease, arsenic the bacteria tin people the heart, hardening arteries, thickening arterial walls, and promoting humor clots. 

‘This is wherever the disconnect becomes truly clear,’ Dr Perry said. ‘Poor oral wellness doesn't conscionable enactment successful your mouth.’

She added: ‘So erstwhile this medication sets goals to trim chronic disease, but doesn't code oral wellness access, it's missing a large portion of the puzzle.

‘You cannot afloat tackle chronic illness if you're ignoring the relation of the rima successful the body.’

With nationalist skepticism of fluoride mounting to a historical high, dentists fearfulness that radical already lacking capable dental attraction volition beryllium the astir harmed.

‘I'm profoundly acrophobic that the populations surviving successful dental deserts are going to autumn adjacent further down and tally into adjacent much wellness issues than those with entree to due dental care,’ Dr Perry said.

Dr Mahalaha added: ‘Removing fluoride would beryllium a measurement backward, peculiarly for the millions already surviving successful dental deserts.’