Fort Worth is leaving the fluoride in your tap alone for now, keeping its drinking water at the current dose while Washington sorts out the science.
City officials told council members they will hold the line at the federal target of about 0.7 milligrams per liter, which matches guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That wait-and-see approach comes as a national fight over fluoride's risks and benefits heats up again.
At a recent council work session, city water staff said they do not plan to touch local fluoride requirements unless federal health or environmental agencies order a change. Water-services director Chris Harder reminded council members that Fort Worth has followed federal fluoridation guidance since the 1960s and warned that any new federal standard could affect about 1.5 million people, including 33 wholesale customers that buy treated water from the city. Councilmember Macy Hill, who in February asked for a deeper look at fluoride, was told staff will bring a full briefing after federal reviews are finished, according to the Fort Worth Report.
Federal science and reviews
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is in the middle of a human-health toxicity assessment of fluoride as it reexamines national drinking-water standards, according to the EPA.
In 2024, the National Toxicology Program reviewed dozens of studies and concluded that higher fluoride exposures, roughly 1.5 milligrams per liter and above, were associated with lower IQ scores in some research. Most of that evidence came from communities with fluoride levels far above the U.S. fluoridation target. Federal regulators say they will weigh those findings against other lines of evidence before making any decision on changing guidance, according to the National Toxicology Program.
Benefits and the public-health case
Public-health agencies still point to cavity prevention as the main reason for putting fluoride in drinking water. The CDC recommends about 0.7 milligrams per liter as the sweet spot where communities get strong oral-health benefits while limiting potential harms, per the CDC.
Federal health reviews note that community fluoridation helped drive large drops in tooth decay in past decades, even as more recent studies find smaller effects in an era of fluoride toothpaste and better dental care. That trade off, fewer cavities versus concerns about excess exposure, is a big reason federal agencies are taking another look at the science, according to the NIH.
Politics on the ground
The fluoride fight is not just happening in labs and federal offices. Utah and Florida both moved in 2025 to restrict or ban community water fluoridation, shifting the national conversation and encouraging lawmakers in several other states to file their own restriction bills. In Texas, the Senate filed SB 2653, a proposal to prohibit water fluoridation that is listed as pending in committee in legislative tracking. Those political moves have turned up the heat on local utilities and elected officials who now have to juggle evolving science, long-standing public-health arguments and a very vocal opposition, according to the Water Environment Association of Texas.
What's next for Fort Worth
For now, Fort Worth's water department will keep dosing fluoride at current levels while it waits for the EPA and other federal agencies to wrap up their reviews and issue any new guidance. City staff say they will brief council members once those assessments are published, and any local policy changes would follow that playbook. The EPA's expedited toxicity assessment is expected to be the key reference point for cities across the country that are deciding whether to stick with, scale back or scrap community fluoridation, according to the EPA.
