Public Water
Fluoridation Campaign
In early 2025, lawmakers in Utah started pushing to stop fluoridating public water supplies. With Ultradent being a Utah company, we wanted to take a vocal stand. This started by writing an open letter from Ultradent CEO Dirk Jeffs to Utah Governor Spencer Cox. I partnered with the Utah Dental Association to put together a coalition of key voices to oppose the bill and we were granted an audience with policy makers. Unfortunately these efforts fell short and House Bill 81 was signed into law, banning community water fluoridation in Utah.
In response, I secured roughly 80,000 treatments of Ultradent’s fluoride varnish to donate to local community groups. We distributed these in partnership with the University of Utah and their network of Head Start and health clinics. We chose medical clinics rather than dental in hopes of reaching those most impacted by H.B. 81: people without immediate access to oral health care.
I reached out to local news stations to help spread the word about access to these oral health treatments and we received ample positive coverage. More than 35,000 treatments have been distributed as of Spring 2026.
Ultradent Clinical Advisor Dr. Brigham Stoker interviewed for an extended in-studio segment on KUTV2 about the public health benefits of fluoridated water:
A full feature from ABC4 about the fluoride donation with an appearance from Ultradent Clinical Advisor Dr. Gary Findley:
Ultradent Clinical Advisor Dr. James Wright interviewed on ABC4 regarding the perils of halting public water fluoridation:
Ultradent’s fluoride Varnish donation highlighted in the Deseret News with a quote from CEO Dirk Jeffs:
A piece I wrote for Ultradent Clinical Director Dr. Brett Richins for Inside Dentistry: