The U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced plans to reduce the amount of fluoride present in ingestible children’s products.
These plans include notifying four companies, which have not been disclosed at this time, about potential action by the FDA over the marketing of unapproved fluoride-containing ingestible drugs.
The FDA wrote in a news release that fluoride can help assist in removing bacteria from teeth, but that this removal process can also impact a child’s gut microbiome, resulting in “broader health implications” for certain children.
As previously reported by The Dallas Express, the Trump administration has been working to improve the health of children across the country, with the FDA specifying that evaluating fluoride products was among its priorities.
FDA Commissioner Marty Makary, M.D., M.P.H., explained in the release that children’s teeth can be protected in a variety of ways, with fluoride not standing out as a necessary piece of that equation.
“There are better ways to protect children’s teeth than taking unapproved ingestible fluoride, which is now recognized to alter the gut microbiome. The microbiome is increasingly recognized to be central to a child’s health and development.”
Meanwhile, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. wrote in the release that the FDA is working to protect children by “driving a stake through the heart of outdated science and protecting our kids from the risks associated with ingestible fluoride.”
“It’s scary that these products have been used for decades without approval. Today’s action raises public awareness, informs medical professionals, and builds on President Trump’s commitment to Make Our Children Healthy Again.”
Kennedy has frequently discussed the impact of fluoride on children’s health, with a leaked draft from the Make America Healthy Again strategy stating that fluoride, opioids, and prescribing practices are among the biggest priorities.
Despite fluoride being among the list of meaningful changes nationally, some Dallas activists have claimed that more needs to be done locally to limit its effect on both children and adults.
“Zero is the acceptable level of contaminated HFS (Hydrofluorosilicic Acid) to be added to our tap water to raise the Fluoride level,” said Regina Imburgia, a longtime Dallas organizer against water fluoridation, to The Dallas Express.
“The mayor and Dallas City Council keep allocating funds to keep the fluoridation program going, ignoring the risks.”