Some U.S. water utilities are reporting that the Middle East war is disrupting their ability to maintain recommended fluoride levels in the drinking water. Israel is a major supplier of the chemical used to fluoridate drinking water. The number of water utilities affected so far is small, but the shortage is affecting hundreds of thousands of people. The Association of Metropolitan Water Agencies says it expects additional shortages as the war stresses the supply chain. Dentists say a short-term drop in fluoride levels should be fine for most people, but longer-term disruptions could put Americans, especially young children, at higher risk for tooth decay.

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Gavino Rivera talks about the decline of the Hillcrest neighborhood Thursday, Nov. 16, 2023, as he gathers scrap metal near a Citgo oil refinery in Corpus Christi, Texas. (Jon Shapley/Houston Chronicle via AP)

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Birds fly over the Port of Corpus Christi as the sun sets Thursday, Nov. 16, 2023, in Corpus Christi, Texas. (Jon Shapley/Houston Chronicle via AP)

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A Port of Corpus Christi police officer guides a boat through the port Thursday, Nov. 16, 2023, in Corpus Christi, Texas. (Jon Shapley/Houston Chronicle via AP)

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A ship is docked as the sun sets Thursday, Nov. 16, 2023, at the Port of Corpus Christi in Corpus Christi, Texas. (Jon Shapley/Houston Chronicle via AP)

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A fishing boat works just offshore in the Corpus Christi Bay on Thursday, Nov. 16, 2023, in Corpus Christi, Texas. (Jon Shapley/Houston Chronicle via AP)

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A Citgo oil refinery operates next to the Hillcrest neighborhood Thursday, Nov. 16, 2023, in Corpus Christi, Texas. (Jon Shapley/Houston Chronicle via AP)

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FILE - A woman stands beside her food ration after distribution of aid, in Nalemkais Village, Turkana County, Kenya, Feb. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Patrick Ngugi, File)

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Nurto Madey, a mother displaced by drought, holds her daughter inside her makeshift hut at Ladan internally displaced persons (IDP) camp in Dolow, southern Somalia, Wednesday, March 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Mohamed Sheikh Nor)

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Isho Isak sits with her malnourished child at Dolow Referral Hospital in southern Somalia after being affected by drought, Wednesday, March 25, 2026 (AP Photo/Mohamed Sheikh Nor)