The Santa Fe Group’s Statement April 2025: Oral Health Keeps America Healthy

The Santa Fe Group strongly supports the opportunity to keep America healthy. We are alarmed by recent decisions that undermine decades of progress in oral health. 

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is entrusted with safeguarding the health and well-being of all Americans at every stage of life. While the Secretary of Health and Human Services has pledged to “Make America Healthy Again,” this vision cannot be realized without recognizing oral health as a critical component of overall health. 

Proposed cuts include the removal of highly qualified oral health scientists and experts from HHS, defunding of evidence-based oral health prevention programs authorized by Congress, and the unprecedented recommendation to end community water fluoridation. Community water fluoridation is a proven, cost-effective public health measure and the current action overrides local and state authority to manage fluoride levels for dental health benefits. 

These actions directly contradict HHS’s mission and ignore a substantial body of peer-reviewed, science-based research confirming that oral health is inseparable from overall health. Oral disease not only affects quality of life but also contributes to systemic health conditions, increased healthcare costs, and avoidable burdens on families and communities. Prevention is by far a healthier and more economically sound approach than the cost of pain and emergency treatment. 

The Santa Fe Group is a 501(c)(3), action-oriented think tank with a passion to improve lives through oral health.