PHILADELPHIA — The Annenberg Public Policy Center at the University of Pennsylvania conducted the Annenberg Science and Public Health survey from April 14 to April 28, 2026, sampling 1,639 adults across the United States. The survey found that 43 percent of adults favor the use of fluoride in public drinking water, 26 percent oppose it, and 30 percent are neutral.

When asked specifically about fluoridating their own community's drinking water, 43 percent expressed favor, 23 percent expressed opposition, and 34 percent remained neutral. Forty percent of respondents opposed a policy to end community water fluoridation, while 28 percent favored ending it, and 32 percent were neutral.

Patrick E. Jamieson, director of the Annenberg Public Policy Center's Annenberg Health and Risk Communication Institute, noted divisions on the issue. "Americans are divided on fluoridation, but what stands out is that supporters of the Make America Healthy Again movement are notably more skeptical," Jamieson said. Twenty-six percent of respondents identified as supporters of the Make America Healthy Again movement.

Among Make America Healthy Again supporters, 41 percent opposed adding fluoride to their community's drinking water, and 26 percent favored it. In contrast, among non-supporters of the movement, 63 percent favored fluoridation and 11 percent opposed it. Fifty percent of supporters favored ending fluoridation, compared to 15 percent of non-supporters. Jamieson added, "Even so, there is widespread trust in the American Dental Association, which reports that 80 years of research shows community water fluoridation to be safe and the single most effective public health measure to prevent tooth decay."

The survey indicated that 74 percent of respondents had greater confidence in the American Dental Association for trustworthy information on water fluoride's health effects than in Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who received 34 percent. However, among supporters, 74 percent expressed confidence in Kennedy Jr., while 68 percent expressed confidence in the American Dental Association. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced a plan to direct the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to stop recommending fluoridation and to assemble a task force of health experts to study the issue.

Regarding public health effects, 42 percent of respondents stated fluoride in public water supplies has a positive effect, 17 percent said it has a negative effect, and 35 percent were unsure. Forty-six percent of respondents reported not being familiar with fluoride's use in U.S. water supplies, with 45 percent somewhat familiar and 9 percent very familiar. Additionally, 41 percent were unsure if their community's public water supply was fluoridated, while 48 percent stated it was.