New Report Points to Fluoride Benefits and Safety

Posted February 04, 2026 & filed under Fluoride and Public Health, Fluoride in the News.

The Chief Medical Officer in England requested that the Academy of Medical Sciences (AMS) review the international evidence related to the impact of an optimal level of fluoride in drinking water. In December 2025, the AMS issued its report, concluding that it did not find any health harms from fluoridated water.

“Evidence on the detrimental effects of water fluoridation does not show any effect on neurodevelopment or other non-dental harms,” the AMS report stated.

The new report also summarized the evidence on the benefits of water fluoridation. According to the AMS, the benefits of fluoridated water are not as strong as they were before the introduction of fluoride toothpaste. Nonetheless, the AMS report found that “the effects of water fluoridation in England are, overall, beneficial to dental health in children and adults,” and these benefits include “reducing the incidence of (hospital) admissions for dental extractions in children.”

The AMS said that the evidence on how fluoridation affects dental health inequalities is unclear. However, the report noted, “In 5-year-olds, evidence indicates that increased fluoride concentration lowers the prevalence of dental caries across all deprivation quintiles.”

Dental fluorosis is a change in the appearance of tooth enamel resulting in faint white spots or flecks. The report explained that fluorosis is more common in fluoridated areas of the United Kingdom. “At the concentrations discussed in this report,” AMS wrote, “this is normally a cosmetic problem and is often reported as an ‘unwanted effect’ rather than ‘harm’ or ‘adverse effect’.” The report went on to observe that “there was no difference between fluoridated and nonfluoridated areas in the proportion of children who self-reported concerns about the appearance of their teeth.”