The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will remove “ingestible fluoride prescription drug products” or supplements for children from the market effective October 2025 after completing a safety review, the agency announced in a press release on May 13.
The FDA says these products were never approved by the agency.
“Ingested fluoride has been shown to alter the gut microbiome, which is of magnified concern given the early development of the gut microbiome in childhood,” states the press release. “Other studies have suggested an association between fluoride and thyroid disorders, weight gain and possibly decreased IQ.”
Studies in Dispute
A meta-analysis of 74 studies by Kyla W. Taylor, et.al on the effect of fluoride exposure on children’s intelligence scores published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) in 2024 “found significant inverse associations between fluoride exposure and children’s IQ scores.”
The American Dental Association (ADA) disputed the JAMA analysis and other studies cited by the FDA, a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), in a statement on May 13.
“A review of the studies offered as referenced by [HHS] do not in fact demonstrate any harmful effects for the concentrations of fluoride prescribed by physicians and dentists,” wrote the ADA. “There is limited research on the studies of microbiome composition and fluoride association.”
‘Forced Medication’
The FDA action coincides with initiatives in the states to ban fluoride in public water systems.
Florida banned the fluoridation of public water supplies as of July 1, under a measure signed into law by Gov. Ron DeSantis on May 15, after Utah became the first state to block addition of the mineral effective May 7, under a law signed by Gov. Spencer Cox on March 27.
DeSantis called fluoridation for people “forced medication” in signing the bill, Tampa Bay Channel 10 reported on May 16. “The whole crux of the issue is that you should be able to make decisions [about your health] on the basis of informed consent,” said DeSantis. “They don’t have a choice. You’re taking that away from them.”
Louisiana is advancing a bill to remove fluoride from public water systems. A committee in the Louisiana Senate advanced a bill, SB2, on April 23 that sets a high bar for communities to continue fluoridating their water. An amendment allows local residents to vote of fluoridation if a petition is put forward by 15 percent of voters using the public water system.
Louisiana Surgeon General Ralph Abraham supports the idea, stating in an op-ed there is evidence fluoridation lowers I.Q. and public water fluoridation makes proper dosing impossible.
“In the practice of medicine, when you give someone a drug with a specific intended effect, dosing is always critical, and in the case of fluoride, it is all over the map,” wrote Abraham.
‘Shown to Re-Mineralize Teeth’
Too much fluoride can discolor the teeth and could be injurious to human health, says John C. Paris, DMD, MSD, who has an independent dental practice in Arlington, Texas.
“Any chemical in a high enough concentration can be toxic,” said Paris. “When my children were young, I checked the fluoride level in the local water supply and it was below the recommended concentration, so I gave my kids supplemental fluoride tablets. None of them had cavities growing up.”
Paris says he recommends a fluoride gel treatment for older patients.
“Fluoride at certain concentrations will help re-mineralize the teeth,” said Paris. “Prescription fluoride, which has a higher concentration, has been shown to re-mineralize teeth.”
‘Backed by Quantifiable Evidence’
Many U.S. communities began adding fluoride to their water supplies beginning in 1945, after dentists noticed areas with higher levels of the naturally occurring mineral had fewer cases of dental caries, says Merrill Matthews, Ph.D., a medical ethicist and policy advisor to The Heartland Institute, which publishes Health Care News.
“The vast majority of practicing U.S. dentists and their various professional organizations support drinking-water fluoridation at recommended levels,” said Matthews. “And that has been the case for decades, and generally backed by quantifiable evidence. For example, Israel began fluoridation in 1981 and stopped in 2014. Subsequent studies of children found ‘A statistically significant increase in the mean number of treatments in the years after fluoridation cessation (P < 0.05) was found. There was approximately a two-fold increase in the number of all treatments for all ages.’”
‘Decades of Experience’
H. Sterling Burnett, Ph.D., director of the Arthur B. Robinson Center on Climate and Environmental Policy at The Heartland Institute, says he is “not concerned about fluoridation.”
“The best evidence and decades of experience indicate fluoridation is not harmful but has contributed to improved tooth health,” said Burnett. “It is one reason dental health in the United States is so much better than most if not all of the rest of the world.”
Tap water is not toxic, says Burnett.
“By and large, municipal water systems are safe, often safer than bottled water sources,” said Burnett. “Any systems in the U.S. that still have lead pipes, or without modern filtration and [not] using modern treatment technologies, should upgrade, but known toxins are not a major concern.”
‘Growing Public Skepticism’
One reason for the new attention on fluoride could be fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic, says Matthews.
“There has been a growing public skepticism of long-established guidelines in a range of medical fields, a trend that grew dramatically as a result of the government’s failed response to the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Matthews. “The good news is that in the United States the decision of whether or not to fluoridate the drinking water has been left to the states or local governments. That allows those ‘laboratories of democracy’ to flourish. If several state or local governments that have been fluoridating decide to stop, researchers will surely follow up to examine the results.”
Joe Barnett ([email protected]) writes from Arlington, Texas.
Joe Barnett is a senior editor at The Heartland Institute and a policy advisor on budget and tax issues.
