Fluoride—the stuff you’ve been told your whole life is good for your teeth—might be quietly messing with pregnant women and babies. A new study is kicking the dental world right in the molars.
A major meta-analysis published in the Annual Review of Public Health looked at a stack of studies and found that fluoride exposure offers “little benefit to the fetus and young infant” and may come with “detrimental effects.” The potential risks? Weaker bones, thyroid issues, and poor brain development in babies.
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We’ve Been Drinking Fluoride for Decades—Was That a Huge Mistake?
“Fluoride is toxic to early brain development,” said study researcher Philippe Grandjean, a professor of environmental medicine at the University of Southern Denmark. “It is not dependent on the source of the fluoride.” So it’s not just tap water—it’s also that toothpaste you accidentally swallow and even black teas grown in fluoride-rich soil (think East Africa, China, parts of India).
This isn’t just fringe panic. Even HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is weighing in. “The more fluoride you get, the lower your IQ is going to be,” he said. “It was originally thought…if you drank it, it would do something to your body to prevent the growth of cavities. But that’s not how it works.”
In fact, the new review says fluoride’s benefits are almost entirely topical—brushing, not chugging. Which makes you wonder: why are over 200 million Americans still drinking the stuff?
Kennedy says he plans to push the CDC to stop recommending fluoride in public drinking water, and Utah already beat him to the punch, becoming the first state to officially ban it last month. Lawmakers in Ohio, South Carolina, and Florida are also cooking up fluoride bans of their own.
The CDC still claims fluoride prevents cavities by replacing worn-out minerals in tooth enamel. But the new review flips that script: we now have toothpaste and mouthwashes to do the job without soaking our entire population in trace neurotoxins.
So maybe it’s time to rethink the contents of your tap. Because sure, fluoride might save your teeth—but if it’s trading that for a dip in your kid’s IQ, that’s a pretty dark dental deal.
