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The Food and Medicines Administration announced on Tuesday that the process of extracting drops and prescription fluoride tablets will begin For children outside the market. Supplements generally occur to children with a high risk of caries.
The Federal Government and some state legislatures are increasingly attracting attention to what they affirm that are the risks associated with fluoride, a mineral that has been used for decades in community water systems, toothpastes and mouthwash to prevent tooth decay.
Dentists fiercely dispute that fluoride damages exceed benefits.
The FDA Commissioner, Dr. Marty Makary, said in a press release that he is instructing the Agency Evaluation and Research Center of the agency “to evaluate the evidence about the risks of exposure to systemic fluoride of the pharmaceutical products prescription of fluoride pediatric ingestible regulated by the FDA to better inform the parents and the medical community in this emerging area.”
The press release suggested that the ingested fluoride can alter a child's intestinal microbiome and cause weight gain, thyroid disorders and “possibly decreased.”
The United States and Food Administration Commissioner Martin Makary attends a press conference in the Roosevelt room at the White House in Washington, DC, USA. UU., May 12, 2025. Reuters/Nathan Howard
Nathan Howard | Reuters
“The best way to prevent cavities in children is to avoid excessive sugar intake and good dental hygiene,” Makary said.
The FDA said the evaluation must be completed before October 31.
The new action pursues tablets and drops that contain fluoride. According to the American Dental Association, pediatric dentists can prescribe fluoride supplements to children who live in areas with low levels of fluoride in drinking water.
Dr. Meg Uboy, pediatric dentist in Union County, North Carolina, said she has been prescribing more of the drops and tablets since the County Commissioners voted to stop adding fluoride to their water supply last year.
“This is really going to hinder our goal of providing fluoride children,” said Lohary. “It is ridiculous, and takes away the choice of parents allowing their children to have better dental health. It makes no scientific sense.”
“Unlike toothpaste with fluoride or fluoride rinses, these products are swallowed and ingested by babies and young children,” said the press release.
The Secretary of Health Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has previously referred to fluoride as “industrial waste” on the social media platform X and said in MSNBC that the faster the mineral leaves, the better.
“Finishing the use of ingestible fluoride is very late,” Kennedy said in Tuesday's announcement.
Utah and Florida recently prohibited the addition of fluoride to public water systems.
