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Wisconsin Watch partners with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. Read our methodology to learn how we check claims.

Yes.

Recent peer-reviewed studies connect water fluoridation with less dental decay in children.

A Feb. 4 post on a Wisconsin section of Reddit raised the issue. 

The post alluded to a pediatrician’s 2019 statement that dental infections increased significantly after Calgary, Alberta, ended fluoridation in 2011.

Calgary aims to reintroduce fluoridation by March 2025.

In a 2021 study Canadian researchers found that seven years after Calgary ended fluoridation, 65% of Calgary second grade children had cavities, versus 55% in Edmonton, Alberta, which fluoridated.

Canadian researchers in 2024 reported more occurrences of general anesthesia dental treatments among children in non-fluoridated communities.

Israeli researchers in 2024 found treatment of dental problems among children doubled after Israel stopped fluoridation.

The American Dental Association and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control support fluoridation.

U.S. Health Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr. has advocated for ending fluoridation.

About 84% of Wisconsinites had fluoridated water in 2024, down from 87% in 2022, as more communities stopped fluoridating water systems.

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.

Sources

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Tom Kertscher joined Wisconsin Watch as a full-time reporter in October 2024. He started as a fact checker in January 2023 and contributes to our collaboration with the The Gigafact Project to fight misinformation online. Kertscher is a former longtime newspaper reporter, including at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. He is a contributing writer for Milwaukee Magazine and sports freelancer for The Associated Press.