A Trump administration plan to take widely used pediatric fluoride supplements off the market would lead to a dramatic increase in tooth decay in children, especially in places like Long Island where drinking water is not fluoridated , dentists say.

The move, combined with an earlier declaration by Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. that the government would stop recommending communities add fluoride to drinking water, represents a stark change from the federal government’s decades-long promotion of fluoride. Studies over the past 80 years have shown the mineral dramatically reduces the risk of cavities.

Although fluoride in water and in supplements for children is endorsed by leading medical and dental associations, there long has been opposition to it.

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