The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced Tuesday it will take a step towards “end outdated practices” related to child health and will begin removing ingestible fluoride prescription drugs for children on the market.
The Department of Health and Human Services and the FDA are “taking bold actions to protect children in America by starting to remove ingestible fluoride prescription drugs that are not approved by the market,” Health and Human Services spokesman Andrew Nixon told Fox News Digital on Tuesday. “Fluoride prescription drugs given to infants and toddlers have never been approved by the FDA and are harmful to the gut microbiome, potential thyroid dysfunction, weight gain, and even a reduction in IQ. This is not even a public health issue.”
“This illustrates another step in providing our Make America Healthy Promise: by ending outdated practices and putting gold standard science at the heart of child health,” he added.
The FDA announced on Tuesday it has begun its first step in removing “concentrated, ingestible fluoride prescription drugs for children from the market.”
Fluoride is frequently used to protect teeth from decay and cavities.
DeSantis signs bill banning fluoride additives in public waters in Florida: “Hydrate, not medical”
Here, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. of the Department of Health and Human Services, portrayed alongside Food and Drug Director Marty McCurry, said “It has been a long delay in ending the use of ingestible fluoride.” (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
Intakeable fluorides such as tablets prescribed to high-risk children for cavity are not approved by the FDA, according to its chief Marty McCurry, and have been shown to “change the gut microbiota,” indicating that “fluoride and thyroid disorders, weight gain, and possibly a decrease in IQ.”
The ingestible fluoride is swallowed and unlike other fluoride products, such as fluoride-fortified toothpaste.
Utah bans fluoride from public drinking water, in line with the Maha movement.
In a press release Tuesday, McCurry said children can avoid heavy sugar intake to dodge tooth decay, rather than “change the child's microbiome.” The gut microbiota is the ecosystem of microorganisms that live in the human intestines.
Fluoride is generally added to the US public water systems. (Getty Images)
“The best way to prevent tooth decay in children is to avoid excessive sugar intake and good dental hygiene, rather than changing the child's microbiota,” McAlee said in a press release. “For the same reason that fluoride can kill tooth bacteria, it can also kill intestinal bacteria, which are important for the health of a child.”
“I have directed the Drug Assessment and Research Center to assess evidence regarding the risk of systemic fluoride exposure from FDA-controlled pediatric ingestible fluoride prescription drugs.
Fluoride exposure related to “harmful effects” on pregnant women and infant health
Nixon told Fox News Digital that the HHS and FDA will begin a full safety review, including Public Input, as they are working to finalize plans by October 31st.
“The best way to prevent a child's cavity is to avoid excessive sugar intake and good dental hygiene, rather than changing the child's microbiome.” (Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images)
“The American people deserve transparency and accountability,” Nixon said. “The department is publishing new guidelines to promote safe and effective dental hygiene without compromising gut health.”
“It has been a long delay in terminating the use of ingestible fluorides,” HHS secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. added in a press release.
RFK JR. Calling for fluoride removal from drinking water, causing controversy
Now Director of Health and Human Services, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., said on the day of inauguration, following President Donald Trump's election victory in November 2024, the Trump administration “advises us all. Water systems remove fluoride from public water.” (Anna Money Maker/Getty Images)
“I am grateful to Commissioner McCalley for their leadership on this important issue, and it directly protects the health and development of our children,” Kennedy said. “This decision brings us a step closer to realizing President Trump's promise to make America healthy again.”
Following President Donald Trump's election victory in November 2024, the Trump administration posted that “we advise all of us. The water system advises us to remove fluoride from public water.”
Children exposed to lower fluoride levels were found to have lower IQs, studies reveal
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. previously said that fluoride should be removed from public water. (Read Eagle via Hasty/Medianews Group/Getty Images)
“Fluoride is an industrial waste related to arthritis, bone fractures, bone cancer, IQ loss, neurodevelopmental disorders and thyroid diseases. President @RealdonaldTrump and First Lady @Melaniatrump want to make America healthy again,” he continued.
Trump told the media shortly after Kennedy's X post that the plan to remove fluoride from the water system was “ok for me.”
The initial state of banning fluoride in drinking water will listen to the Maha movement's call for action
Utah became the country's first state to ban fluoride from public water systems in May, but Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill on May 6th that would ban fluoride additives in the state's public water supply. The law will take effect on July 1st.
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“Clogs of fluoride in water supply are essentially forced drugs,” DeSantis said at a May 6 press conference in Tallahassee, Florida. “After all, we should all agree that people deserve informed consent.”
Local dentists and movement critics have argued that it hurts residents who rely on fluoride to enhance dental health.
