Utah’s fluoride in water ban starts today, but it won’t affect Park City

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PARK CITY, Utah – Today, Utah’s ban on fluoride in drinking water takes effect, but the ban won’t affect Park City at all. That’s because none of Park City’s four water districts added fluoride to drinking water anyway.

According to Michelle DeHaan, Park City’s Water Quality & Treatment Manager, Park City’s water has relatively low levels of natural fluoride. Because of this, the dental community in Park City generally recommend incorporating fluoride into daily oral hygiene routines and many also recommend fluoride treatments during routine cleaning to strengthen enamel and prevent cavities.

Davis and Salt Lake counties, and Brigham City, are the only governments that still added fluoride to drinking water, roughly half of the state’s population lives there.

The ban has received widespread criticism from institutions like the American Dental Association.

“House Bill 81 ends one of the most equitable, trusted and tested public health strategies in the arsenal of preventive medicine,” they said in a statement.

Meanwhile, U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has publicly endorsed Utah’s recent decision to ban fluoride in public drinking water, applauding the decision during a recent visit to the Beehive state.

More information on the American Dental Association’s fluoride recommendations can be found here.