AAE Champions the TEETH Act to Safeguard Evidence-Based Fluoridation Policies
The American Association of Endodontists (AAE) continues to uphold its role as a champion of public health and scientific integrity by supporting legislation that preserves access to effective, evidence-based oral health interventions. Through its endorsement of the Protect Our Treatment for Enamel, Erosion, and Tooth Health (TEETH Act – H.R. 4556), the AAE joins a coalition of national dental organizations working to ensure that regulatory decisions affecting community water fluoridation are grounded in robust scientific review.
Fluoridation of public water systems policy rooted in more than 80 years of research and practice—remains one of the most impactful and cost-effective public health measures in modern dentistry. The AAE is committed to safeguarding this trusted intervention by advocating for science-led policymaking, especially amid mounting concern over efforts to weaken the evidentiary standards that guide drinking water regulations. The TEETH Act would require the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to commission a rapid-response review from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine before proposing changes to drinking water regulations that affect community water fluoridation. This is especially timely considering the EPA’s July 18 announcement eliminating its Office of Research and Development, the very office responsible for developing the scientific evidence that informs regulatory policy. Without this scientific infrastructure, critical decisions could be shaped by flawed, mischaracterized, or isolated studies, putting communities at risk and compromising public trust in preventive care.
Community water fluoridation involves the controlled adjustment of naturally occurring fluoride levels to the optimal concentration of 0.7 mg/L as recommended by the U.S. Public Health Service. This simple and safe practice has been shown to reduce cavities by approximately 25 percent in children and adults. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have recognized it as one of the ten most significant public health achievements of the 20th century. As the cost of dental care continues to rise and provider shortages expand, eliminating or weakening support for this measure would disproportionately impact underserved populations, increase long-term health expenditures and exacerbate oral health disparities nationwide.
AAE’s support for the TEETH Act reinforces its long-standing mission to protect access to scientifically validated equitable oral health interventions. Earlier this month, the Association joined with the American Dental Association and other organizations in a unified letter to Congress urging swift passage of the TEETH Act. This collective advocacy emphasizes the profession’s shared understanding that regulatory decisions must be anchored in comprehensive, peer-reviewed research, especially when those decisions have far-reaching implications for public health and cost-effective care.
By standing firmly in support of H.R. 4556, the AAE calls on lawmakers to uphold scientific rigor, protect preventive oral health, and resist regulatory shifts based on misinformation or incomplete data. In doing so, the Association continues its leadership in preserving a strong, evidence-based foundation for dental practice and policy. AAE remains committed to working alongside policymakers, public health leaders, and the Organized Dentistry Coalition to ensure that sound science—not politics—guides the future of community oral health.