Kansas Committee on Water holds informational hearing on community water fluoridation; no action taken

TOPEKA — The Committee on Water held an informational hearing on water fluoridation on Oct. 27, 2025, hearing testimony from dentists, public-health advocates and Kansas Department of Health and Environment officials but taking no action.

The hearing included pro-fluoridation testimony from Dr. Beatrice Britton, DDS, of Abilene; Kevin Robertson, executive director of the Kansas Dental Association; and Tanya Dorf Bruner, executive director of Oral Health Kansas. KDHE’s Tom Stiles, director of the Bureau of Water, described the state’s regulatory role and monitoring requirements. Two dentists who oppose community fluoridation, Dr. Julie Babcock and Dr. Griffin Cole, also testified.

Committee Chair (unidentified) opened the presentations by saying, “I do not intend to take any action on this unless some members of the committee want to move something forward. So we're gonna calmly and quietly discuss fluoridation in municipal water today and have a good discussion here.” The committee then limited questions because of the number of people who wanted to testify.

Why it matters: Testimony and KDHE data framed fluoridation as a public-health measure intended to reduce tooth decay, particularly among children and low-income residents, while opponents raised concerns about dosing, emerging scientific questions about neurodevelopmental effects and federal review of fluoride safety.

Dr. Beatrice Britton told the committee she returned to her rural hometown of Abilene to provide dental care and that she had urged her city commission to continue fluoridation when the commission considered stopping it. “Numerous credible scientific…