'We know fluoride works': RFK Jr. targets fluoride as Buffalo restores it

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — President-elect Donald Trump has selected Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to head the Department of Health and Human Services. One of Kennedy's top priorities is removing fluoride from the nation's drinking water.

In a recent post on X (formerly Twitter), Kennedy claimed that the Trump White House would advise all U.S. water systems to remove fluoride, citing its association with health complications like arthritis, bone cancer, and IQ loss. However, the studies Kennedy references are preliminary and only examine high levels of fluoride exposure, not the low levels currently recommended by health authorities.

Marcelo Araujo, Dean of the School of Dental Medicine at the University at Buffalo, said that fluoride is the best and most equitable source of oral health.

"So fluoride is actually one of the best innovations that ever happened in dentistry, and in terms of oral health, it's the number one thing that can prevent cavities," he said.

This announcement from RFK Jr. comes as the Buffalo Water Board has reintroduced fluoride into the city's drinking water after a nearly decade-long absence.

The fluoride levels in Buffalo's water will eventually reach 0.7 parts per million, the dosage recommended by the National Institutes of Health.

Araujo said that the UB dental clinic saw an increase of kids from the City of Buffalo coming in for care when the city did not have fluoride in its water.

"We know fluoride works," Araujo said.

However, not everyone is on board with the decision that the Buffalo Water Board made.

At a Buffalo Common Council Committee meeting on Tuesday, some residents voiced opposition to the move.

Buffalo Water Concerns

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"We have been misled to accept this toxic substance," one woman said.

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"Water fluoridation is an inappropriate way to deliver medicine and denies people medical consent," another woman added.