Although dentists have grown familiar with the stress of workforce shortages and rising costs, new challenges have emerged this year that have the potential to threaten dentistry and healthcare as a whole.
Here are two new issues worrying dentists in 2025:
Fluoride bans
Discussions about water fluoridation’s safety increased last year after the National Toxicology Program concluded in a report that higher levels of fluoride exposure are associated with lower IQ in children. Although the report’s methodology and research has been heavily contested by several healthcare organizations, the debates have continued to heat up, rolling over into this year in the form of statewide bans and federal callouts.
Utah and Florida recently enacted statewide bans, with several other states considering their own bans. At the federal level, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has continued to criticize fluoride, claiming last month that fluoride makes kids “stupider,” and stating that he plans to scale back the amount of fluoride in the country’s drinking water.
Dental leaders across the U.S. are sounding the alarm on these bans, stating that such actions threaten public health. A coalition of more than 200 health professional organizations and research bodies recently backed the safety and effectiveness of water fluoridation, stating that the discontinuation of water fluoridation would lead to the U.S. experiencing a rapid rise in tooth decay.
“Community water fluoridation remains the only way to ensure that all people — especially those who are at greatest risk for dental disease and who have the fewest resources to maintain their oral health — can reap its cavity-preventing benefits,” the coalition said. “We remain committed to fluoride in water as a way to reach those most in need and we support continued research that can inform and update its optimal level over time.”
HHS funding cuts
Efforts to restructure the HHS Department began last month, leading to the shutdown of the CDC’s oral health division as part of the federal government’s plans to return the organization to its core mission of responding to epidemics and outbreaks.
The American Dental Association said the reductions undermine national health priorities, urging Mr. Kennedy and President Donald Trump to immediately reverse the cuts. Although Mr. Kennedy said April 4 that 20% of the job cuts made in April were wrong and will need to be corrected, it is unclear if those reinstatements will apply to the CDC’s oral health division.
A leaked draft of the Trump administration’s fiscal year 2026 budget proposal also showed cuts to additional oral health-related programs. Under the proposal, the HHS Department’s overall discretionary funding would be cut from $116.8 billion to $80.4 billion. Several workforce programs would also be eliminated, including the Faculty Loan Repayment Program, the Public Health Workforce Development program and the Training in Oral Health program.
Additionally, the leaked draft highlights plans to cut the National Institute of Health’s budget by about 40% and consolidate the agency from 27 institutes to eight. The National Institute for Dental and Craniofacial Research would be consolidated with the National Institute for Neurological Disorders and Stroke and the National Eye Institute to create the National Institute on Neuroscience and Brain Research.
Three dental organizations joined a coalition of groups urging Congress members to oppose cuts to the HHS Department, calling the draft proposal “dangerous” and “devastating.”
“It would put our nation’s health and security at risk by defunding, and in some cases eliminating, vital programs that monitor and defend against infectious and chronic disease, battle opioid and mental health epidemics, protect the public against environmental and occupational health threats, reduce preventable injuries, address public health emergencies and deliver high-quality care to veterans, seniors and other Americans,” the coalition’s letter to Congress states.