The attorney general in Texas has launched investigations into Colgate-Palmolive and Procter & Gamble for illegally marketing fluoride toothpaste to parents and children in ways that are “misleading, deceptive, and dangerous.”
Attorney General Ken Paxton sent civil investigative demands to the companies due to the growing body of scientific evidence that shows excessive fluoride exposure may not be safe for children, according to a press release dated May 1 from the attorney general.
Much of this is triggered by a report released in August 2024 from the National Toxicology Program (NTP) that concluded with "moderate confidence" that fluoride exposure above 1.5 mg/L was linked to lower IQ in children. Additionally, the report found that more research was needed to better understand whether health risks correlated with exposure to lower concentrations of fluoride.
“I will use every tool available to protect our kids from dangerous levels of fluoride exposure and deceptive advertising,” Paxton said in the press release.
Despite recommendations from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the ADA that young children should only brush with a very small amount of fluoride toothpaste, companies “continue to flavor their oral health products and deceptively market them in ways that encourage kids to ingest fluoride toothpaste and mislead their parents to use far more than the safe and recommended amount of fluoride toothpaste,” according to the release.
Recently, fluoride has been a hot topic. In April, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced it will swiftly review new scientific data on the potential health riskss associated with adding fluoride to public drinking water. The announcement was made during an event with U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Kennedy has promised to recommend ending water fluoridation since before President Donald Trump was reelected. Kennedy has claimed that the cavity-fighter fluoride is an "industrial waste associated with arthritis, bone fractures, bone cancer, IQ loss, neurodevelopmental disorders, and thyroid disease."
Also, Kennedy has said he plans to direct the CDC to stop recommending fluoride's addition to public water systems while putting together a task force to discuss and act on the issue.
Some states have already stepped up efforts to end community water fluoridation. In March, Utah signed a law banning fluoride in public drinking water, becoming the first state to take such a drastic measure. The law took effect on May 7. Also, Florida appears to do the same.
In September 2024, a U.S. judge in California issued a milestone decision that adding fluoride to public drinking water to help prevent tooth decay is risky to individuals, including children, who may face lowered IQs. Therefore, the practice requires government intervention.
