Claims that water fluoridation may be out once President-elect Donald Trump returns to office in 2025 have led the stock at dental supply companies, including Henry Schein, to surge, according to news reports.
Investors claim that news that Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Trump's choice for secretary of the U.S. Health and Human Services Department, may call for municipalities to stop adding cavity-fighting fluoride to public water systems in 2025 may boost demand for dental hygiene products sold by Henry Schein, Dentsply Sirona, and Envista. Also, Kennedy's antifluoride stance may mean a boost in dental visits, according to news reports.
On November 18, Schein's shares rose 7.5%, marking its best trading day since 2022. Additionally, Dentsply Sirona and Envista saw gains during this session.
On November 2, Kennedy posted on social media that on January 20, when Trump returns to office, his administration will call for fluoride to no longer be added to community drinking water systems. Trump has said he supports some of the controversial views on health touted by Kennedy, an environmental lawyer with no medical or public health background.
More than 70% of public drinking water in the U.S. is fluoridated. Despite the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention naming water fluoridation one of the greatest public health achievements of the 20th century, the practice has many critics, specifically for its potential negative health risks.
A study published on October 18 in the Journal of Health Economics revealed that children exposed to public fluoridated water between the ages of 0 and 5 may experience less economic independence, physical ability, and health as adults.
In October, a review published in the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews revealed that drinking fluoridated water may not be so important now that people in the U.S. use toothpaste and mouthwashes that contain cavity-fighting fluoride.
That review came two weeks after a U.S. judge in California issued a milestone decision determining that adding fluoride to public drinking water to help prevent tooth decay is risky to individuals, including children who may face lowered IQs, and therefore requires government intervention.
Additionally, the judge ordered the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to take regulatory action to address these risks. The EPA must determine the potential harm of fluoride in drinking water and determine how to respond under its amended Toxic Substances Control Act.
