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.
Source: The issues keeping dentists up at night / Becker’s Dental