Utah is on track to become the first state to ban fluoride from its water supply.

A bill that takes away local government’s choice to add fluoride passed the state legislature and now awaits Republican Gov. Spencer Cox’s signature.

The historic legislation comes after Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said in November that the Trump administration would cease fluoridating the water supply. 

“On January 20, the Trump White House will advise all U.S​. water systems to remove fluoride from public water,” Kennedy posted on X last November. “Fluoride is an industrial waste associated with arthritis, bone fractures, bone cancer, IQ loss, neurodevelopmental disorders, and thyroid disease.”

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention pushes back on Kennedy’s claims, saying that adding fluoride to drinking water is “a cornerstone strategy for prevention of cavities.”

“Drinking fluoridated water keeps teeth strong and reduces cavities by about 25% in children and adults. This results in less mouth pain, fewer fillings or teeth pulled, and fewer missed days of work and school,” the agency’s website says.

The federal government is not charged with regulating fluoride in the water supply. Instead, local governments make the decision. 

The bill’s sponsor, Republican Rep. Stephanie Gricius, doesn’t deny fluoride has health benefits but says it comes down to granting greater autonomy to residents regarding what they put in their bodies.

“I don’t dispute that there can be positive benefits from fluoride, which is why the bill also includes a deregulation of the prescription,” Gricius said in a text message to the Associated Press, referencing a fluoride pill. “This isn’t anti-fluoride legislation, it is pro-informed consent and individual choice.”

Utah ranks 44th in the nation in terms of the percentage of residents who have access to fluoridated water. Just 66 out of the 484 Utah water systems that reported data to the CDC in 2024 fluoridated their water.

WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT FLUORIDE IN DRINKING WATER AND WHY RFK JR. WANTS IT REMOVED

In 2023, Brigham County, just north of Salt Lake City, attempted to ban fluoride from its drinking water but failed to do so by a vote of two to one. 

Utah is not alone in its crusade to restrict fluoride. The Florida Farm Bill also includes a measure that would ban fluoride statewide.