Trump could push the US to stop adding fluoride to water. Where does Europe stand?

As US President-elect Donald Trump charts his second term in the White House, an unusual suspect is at the top of the health policy to-do list: removing fluoride, a naturally occurring mineral that helps prevent tooth decay, from the water supply.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr – an environmental lawyer, anti-vaccine activist, and Trump’s pick to lead the US health department – has called fluoride an "industrial waste" and said Trump will push to remove it on day one of his presidency in January.

The focus on fluoridation may seem mysterious to some, given the US and Europe started adding fluoride to drinking water to boost children’s dental health in the mid-1900s. It has been shown to reduce cavities by about 25 per cent.

In the US, state and local authorities decide whether to fluoridate water, but the government currently recommends a level of 0.7 milligrams of fluoride per litre of water, well below the World Health Organization (WHO)’s safety threshold of 1.5 mg/L.

However, there also appear to be some risks tied to long-term fluoridation above that level.

Research from countries with naturally high levels of fluoride suggests that excessive consumption is linked to bone weakening and lower IQ in children.

That has prompted backlash to fluoride over the years, with opponents claiming that European countries have “rejected” or banned fluoridation.

But is that really true? And how do European countries stack up when it comes to fluoride in drinking water?

Ireland, England, Wales, and parts of Spain currently add fluoride to water, according to researchers from Dublin City University.

About 10 per cent of England’s population has access to “optimally” fluoridated water, compared with 11 per cent in Spain and 73 per cent in Ireland, the