FDA Moves to Take Fluoride Supplements for Children Off the Market

Well|The F.D.A. Says Fluoride Pills May Harm Children’s Health. Researchers Disagree.

The Food and Drug Administration will work to pull fluoride supplements for children from the market, the agency announced Tuesday.

The move comes at the same time as a wave of bills aiming to restrict use of the mineral, which has long been added to public water supplies because it strengthens teeth and can prevent cavities. In March, Utah became the first state to ban the addition of fluoride to public water. Legislation restricting fluoridated drinking water has also been introduced in Florida, Louisiana, North Dakota, Tennessee and Montana. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has said he will tell the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to stop recommending fluoride in water altogether.

The F.D.A. said it will review the safety of ingestible fluoride products for children by Oct. 31, citing a range of potential health risks that are not based in rigorous research.

“The evidence is incredibly weak to make this kind of move,” said Dr. Scott Tomar, a public health dentist and oral epidemiologist at the University of Illinois Chicago. He added: “You don’t make public health policy based on one or two pretty weak review articles.”

Why do dentists recommend fluoride supplements?

Dentists prescribe fluoride tablets, lozenges and drops to children who live in areas without fluoridated water or who are at high risk of developing cavities, which could be because they have high amounts of plaque, do not regularly go to the dentist or have family members with dental disease.

These supplements are designed to provide a similar amount of fluoride to what people typically get from drinking water.