THE SENATE	S.R. NO.	37
THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2026
STATE OF HAWAII

SENATE RESOLUTION

 

 

requesting the department of health to conduct a study on the costs and benefits of requiring water suppliers in the state to adjust fluoride levels IN THEIR WATER SYSTEMS to meet the optimal fluoride level for community water fluoridation as established by the United States Department of Health and Human Services.

 

 

     WHEREAS, drinking fluoridated water is a safe and cost-effective way to reduce cavities and to help protect against tooth decay; and

 

     WHEREAS, drinking water with the optimal fluoride concentration helps keep teeth strong and reduces tooth decay by approximately twenty-five percent; and

 

     WHEREAS, most states and many countries, including Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and Singapore, require fluoridation, or the addition of fluoride, in their public water systems; and

 

     WHEREAS, in the State, only military bases currently add fluoride to their water supplies, meaning that approximately eighty-nine percent of the State's residents lack access to the benefits of fluoridated drinking water; and

 

     WHEREAS, this lack of community water fluoridation contributes to the State's high prevalence of tooth decay, which affects many adults and approximately seventy percent of the State's children; and

 

     WHEREAS, many of the State's residents receive minimal to no routine dental care; and

 

     WHEREAS, many residents do not have dental insurance, and Medicaid managed care plans cover dental services for children but not for adults; and

 

     WHEREAS, the State's hospitals experience thousands of visits per year for dental emergencies that routine dental care would likely have prevented; and

 

     WHEREAS, requiring fluoridation in the State's public water supplies will help support residents' oral health in the absence of, or in addition to, other dental care services; now, therefore,

 

     BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Thirty-third Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2026, that the Department of Health is requested to conduct a study on the costs and benefits of requiring water suppliers in the State to adjust fluoride levels in their water systems to meet the optimum fluoride level for community water fluoridation as established by the United States Department of Health and Human Services; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department of Health is requested to submit a report of its findings and recommendations, including any proposed legislation, to the Legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2027; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a certified copy of this Resolution be transmitted to the Director of Health.

 

 

 

	OFFERED BY:	_____________________________

 

 

 

Report Title: 

DOH; Community Water Fluoridation; Study