HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. voiced his commitment to dental health and discussed his agency’s oral health priorities during a budget hearing with the House Appropriations Committee May 14.
RFK Jr. met with committee members to discuss Fiscal Year 2026 budget proposals and a number of healthcare topics, including the recent HHS restructuring, NIH funding, chronic diseases and FDA oversight.
Here is what the HHS Secretary had to say about oral health during the hearing:
Commitment to oral health
Mr. Kennedy said he is “deeply committed” to dental health, acknowledging the importance of oral healthcare for overall wellbeing.
“There [is] so much new science out there that shows how dental health is intricately related to health in the rest of the body, to the microbiome [and] to the brain health,” he said. “We want to do those kinds of studies to make sure we understand that, and we need to make a big commitment to dental health.”
Fluoride
Rep. Mike Simpson, DMD, who practiced dentistry for several years before entering politics, said he is concerned with the HHS Department’s recent actions against the use of fluoride.
The committee hearing took place after the HHS Department announced that the FDA would begin removing ingestible fluoride prescription drug products for children from the market, claiming that ingested fluoride has been shown to alter the gut microbiome and is linked to thyroid disorders, weight gain and possibly decreased IQ.
Mr. Simpson said he would like to see the studies referenced by the HHS Department in their announcement.
“I’ve seen the benefits [of fluoride] having been a practicing dentist for 22 years,” Mr. Simpson told Mr. Kennedy. “You don’t prevent cavities by fluoride killing the bacteria in the mouth. What it does is make the enamel more resistant to decay, so I want to see the studies on this and where we’re headed with this. I will tell you that if you are successful in banning fluoride … we better put a lot more money into dental education because we’re going to need a whole lot more dentists.”
Mr. Kennedy claimed that most of the benefits of fluoride come from topical applications, such as with mouthwashes and toothpastes. He also referenced the National Toxicology Program’s 2024 report that linked higher levels of fluoride exposure with lower IQ in children, despite the report being heavily contested by several healthcare organizations.
