Typical levels of fluoride in community drinking water do not impair cognitive abilities and may even boost them, according to a new study published Wednesday in the journal Science Advances.

Using decades of test scores from nearly 27,000 Americans, scientists found that students with full childhood exposure to recommended fluoride levels scored higher than those with no exposure. The data showed no signs of cognitive decline later in life.

The study challenges earlier claims from Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr that exposure to fluoride led to lower IQ.

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This new study does not explain why the students with fluoride exposure had higher test scores, but co-author John Robert Warran, a sociologist with the University of Minnesota, said he believes that having better dental health as a result of fluoride may have meant those individuals were less likely to be absent from school because of illness.

Warren and the team of researchers are planning to study this subject matter further, including comparing IQ tests.

Fluoride became a hot-button issue this year after Kennedy's opposition, prompting states like Utah and Florida the become the first to ban fluoride in community drinking water.

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