Fluoride Supplements: Healthy or Harmful?

This video outlines how fluoride supplements can be potentially harmful and are not FDA approved for caries prevention.

The IAOMT and FAN caution of harm from fluoride supplements,
which are not FDA-Approved for caries prevention.

Many dentists prescribe fluoride tablets, drops, lozenges, and rinses, which are often referred to as fluoride supplements or “vitamins.” These products are potentially harmful because they can result in dangerous fluoride exposure levels. They contain 0.25, 0.5, or 1.0 mg fluoride, and they are not approved as safe and effective for caries prevention by the FDA.

These fluoride-containing pharmaceutical drugs are routinely prescribed to children, allegedly to prevent cavities. However, these drugs have a harmful potential, and they are not supplements in the way that calcium, magnesium, and other real nutrients are.

In fact, marketing fluoride “supplements” as cavity preventatives violates federal law because the FDA has never approved these drugs for this purpose. Yet, these harmful drugs are still being prescribed to millions of children throughout the US and are even still being sold at the nation’s largest pharmacies.

Some doctors and parents are not aware that fluoride supplements can harm children.

Swallowing fluoride supplements is not only ineffective, it’s also potentially dangerous, especially for children. Fluoride is now recognized as a developmental neurotoxin and endocrine disrupting substance, and studies suggest that ingesting fluoride during early childhood may cause learning and behavioral problems, low thyroid function, and other potential harm, including bone fragility, bone cancer, and dental fluorosis. Click here to read more about the health effects of fluoride.

The potential health harms from fluoride supplements have been made clear. A 2006 National Research Council report established that age, risk factors, ingestion of fluoride from other sources, inappropriate use, and other considerations should be taken into account for these products. Moreover, in 2015, scientists conducting an analysis of fluoride in toothpaste and fluoride supplements concluded that more strict control of fluoride levels in pharmaceutical drugs is needed due to the toxicity of fluoride.