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    Red No. 3, which may be harmful to consumers

    In brief: ADHA fights to uphold professional standards, RFK Jr.’s future food dye ban, decline of dental economic conditions

    April 29, 2025
    This week in dental news, the ADHA pushes for higher professional standards, RFK Jr. announces plan to ban food dyes, and polls indicate declining dental economic trends.

    ADHA calls for "qualified dental hygiene providers" only

    The American Dental Hygienists' Association (ADHA) and the International Federation of Dental Hygienists (IFDH) released a statement earlier this month advocating for higher professional standards in dental hygiene. This is in response to recent legislation allowing improperly trained and educated individuals to perform dental hygiene procedures in the US. The ADHA and IFDH's firm stance on this matter aims to help protect patient health and uphold professionalism among the dental community.1

    Across the globe, the dental hygiene profession is at a crossroads with numerous challenges regarding our autonomy and credentials," IFDH president Jill Rethman said in a press release. "Disguised as ways to alleviate workforce shortages, these efforts are quick fixes that won't address the root causes of personnel shortages. These efforts could endanger the public by allowing those without the thorough training of licensed dental hygienists to treat patients."1

    Considering the pivotal role hygienists play in disease prevention and therapeutic care, this push for "qualified dental hygiene providers" is paramount in keeping patients safe.

    To read the ADHA and IFDH's full position statement, click here.

    RFK Jr. plans to ban artificial food dyes

    Last week, Health and Human Services director RFK Jr. announced his plan to eliminate eight common artificial food dyes by the end of next year.

    At a recent news conference, RFK Jr. and his team discussed working with major food companies to meet demands without hurting their sales numbers. He plans to revoke authorization for two synthetic food colorings (Citrus Red No. 2 and Orange B) and phase out six other synthetic dyes found in kids' cereal and popular snack products.2

    "For the last 50 years, American children have increasingly been living in a toxic soup of synthetic chemicals." RFK Jr. told reporters. To combat this ban, he aims to introduce four naturally sourced food dyes as a way to protect consumers' health.

    FDA commissioner Marty Makary believes this decision will be a net positive, particularly for children. He believes there is a link between synthetic dyes and health conditions such as ADHD/ADD obesity, diabetes, and even cancer. "Why take the gamble?" he said.2

    Although this plan doesn't specifically address nonfood items, such as drugs and hygiene products, many of these are also formulated with artificial dyes. Red No. 3, which has been known to cause cancer and thyroid tumors in animals like rats, is also in some

    toothpaste and mouthwashes. Common OTC drugs like cough syrup and pain relievers are artificially colored with this product as well.3

    https://www.dallasnews.com/news/watchdog/2025/04/28/in-one-of-his-first-acts-rfk-jr-goes-after-food-dyes/
    Cereals with artificial food dyes

    ADA poll reveals economic confidence falls

    A new poll by the ADA Health Policy Institute reveals a sharp drop in economic confidence for the future of dentistry.

    Regarding the next six months, only 35% of dentists reported being somewhat or very confident in the US economy, which is a decrease of 21 percentage points from 2024. Confidence in individual practices and the dental care sector also dropped by 13 and 17 percentage points.4

    According to Dr. Marko Vujicic, ADA chief economist and vice president of HPI, "Volatility in economic conditions and policy may have a lasting impact on dentists' confidence in their professional futures."

    Prior to this poll, 60-66% of dentists (whose responses were collected from rom the third Q3 of 2022 to Q3 of 2024) were either somewhat or very confident in the six-month future of their dental practice-and 54-58% were confident in the dental care industry.4

    Click here to learn more about this poll and the ADA's economic outlook for 2025.

    References

    1. ADHA and IFDH issue joint position statement on qualified dental hygiene providers. American Dental Hygienists' Association April 17, 2025. https://www.adha.org/newsroom/adha-ifdh-joint-position-statement-qualified-dental-hygiene-providers/

    2. RFK Jr. unveils plan to phase out 8 artificial food dyes in the US. ABC News. April 22, 2025. https://abcnews.go.com/US/rfk-jr-plans-phase-artificial-food-dyes-us/story?id=121034287

    3. Cancer risk prompts FDA ban of red dye from food and ingested drugs. Rice A. Healthline. January 16, 2025. https://www.healthline.com/health-news/fda-bans-red-dye-no-3-from-food-drugs-citing-cancer-risks#What-are-the-health-risks-of-red-dye

    4. Dentists' economic confidence drops in first quarter of 2025. Flynn B. AD News. April 1, 2025. https://adanews.ada.org/ada-news/2025/april/dentists-economic-confidence-drops-in-first-quarter-of-2025/?utm_source=chatgpt.com

    About the Author

    Sarah Butkovic, MA, BA

    Sarah Butkovic, MA, BA, is an Associate Editor at Endeavor Business Media, where she works on creating and editing engaging and informative content for today's leading online dentistry publications. She holds a Master's English Language and Literature from Loyola University Chicago and is passionate about producing high-quality content that educates, inspires, and connects with readers.