4 ms·

> Fluoride based toothpaste does not increase dentist margin though right? I mean, that's under attack now. https://www.npr.org/2025/04/10/g-s1-59452/hhs-rfk-

> Fluoride based toothpaste does not increase dentist margin though right? I mean, that's under attack now. https://www.npr.org/2025/04/10/g-s1-59452/hhs-rfk-fluoride-drinking-water-epa https://www.npr.org/2025/04/10/g-s1-59452/hhs-rfk-fluoride-d... "The Department of Health and Human Services is directing the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to make new recommendations on the addition of fluoride to U.S. water sources. HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has blamed the fluoridation of water for a number of health problems."

MyOutfitIsVague 1y ago
I don't care for the current admin nor RFK Jr, but this is a bit disingenuous. Floride toothpaste and floridated drinking water are different things, and RFK hasn't said anything about attacking the former. This jab doesn't have anything to do with the discussion at hand.
- ceejayoz 1y ago
  Fearmongering about fluoride is unlikely to stop at the water supply. RFK has already made moves in this direction: https://www.pbs.org/newshour/health/fda-and-rfk-jr-aim-to-remove-fluoride-supplements-used-to-protect-kids-teeth https://www.pbs.org/newshour/health/fda-and-rfk-jr-aim-to-re... > The products targeted by the FDA are sometimes recommended for children and teens who are at increased risk of tooth decay or cavities because of low fluoride in their local drinking water. They usually require a prescription from a pediatrician or dentist. Fluoride-based tablets and lozenges are designed to be chewed or swallowed. Companies also sell drops for babies and infants. And other politicians: > Last week, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced an investigation into the marketing of fluoride toothpastes by Colgate-Palmolive and Proctor and Gamble. A press release from his office described the companies’ promotions as “misleading, deceptive and dangerous.”
  - elcritch 1y ago
    It’s not fear mongering if fluoride actually does have negative effects. Well AMA just published a meta-analysis this year linking high fluoride level in drinking water to neurotoxicity in children and lower IQ. While there’s insufficient data to say it’s neurotoxic at the recommended levels it doesn’t seem unlikely. Rather it should be required to be proven safe first. https://ntp.niehs.nih.gov/research/assessments/noncancer/completed/fluoride https://ntp.niehs.nih.gov/research/assessments/noncancer/com... > The NTP monograph concluded, with moderate confidence, that higher levels of fluoride exposure, such as drinking water containing more than 1.5 milligrams of fluoride per liter, are associated with lower IQ in children. The NTP review was designed to evaluate total fluoride exposure from all sources and was not designed to evaluate the health effects of fluoridated drinking water alone. It is important to note that there were insufficient data to determine if the low fluoride level of 0.7 mg/L currently recommended for U.S. community water supplies has a negative effect on children’s IQ.
    - Retric 1y ago
      > doesn’t seem unlikely. It seems unlikely we’d have such issues at concentrations so commonly found in natural springs. Much of the world doesn’t add it because it’s already at those levels naturally and has been throughout billions of years. The question is at what point you should spend money removing it as many communities are forced to, not just how much to add.
      - Auracle 1y ago
        That’s just the naturalistic fallacy. I’m sure there are some places in the world with lead or cadmium or whatever in their water - does that mean we should be adding it to our water supplies if we found out it was good for our teeth at the detriment of our brains?
        Retric 1y ago
        No, there’s a difference between something being rare and it being common. Fish species living in the ocean don’t have issues drinking salt water, because if they did their ancestors wouldn’t have reproduced. If half of the world’s water supplies had lead levels of X you’d expect evolution to make that specific level a non issue. Obviously lead levels above that can and are still problematic.
- throwaway290 1y ago
  I heard there was some area in USA where all water is naturally fluoridated and people had abnormally strong teeth and so they started using it in toothpaste after that, maybe it's a myth
skeeter2020 1y ago
Calgary, AB JUST added fluoridation back to the city water today. It doesn't likely have a huge impact for people who can afford and get regular dental care, but for a huge segment of the population could be very impactful, and the majority of health and dental practitioners are happy with this change. We have a whole generation of data from when they removed it a decade-plus ago, so statistics should be pretty solid over the coming years.

MyOutfitIsVague 1y ago

I don't care for the current admin nor RFK Jr, but this is a bit disingenuous. Floride toothpaste and floridated drinking water are different things, and RFK hasn't said anything about attacking the former. This jab doesn't have anything to do with the discussion at hand.

ceejayoz 1y ago
Fearmongering about fluoride is unlikely to stop at the water supply. RFK has already made moves in this direction: https://www.pbs.org/newshour/health/fda-and-rfk-jr-aim-to-remove-fluoride-supplements-used-to-protect-kids-teeth https://www.pbs.org/newshour/health/fda-and-rfk-jr-aim-to-re... > The products targeted by the FDA are sometimes recommended for children and teens who are at increased risk of tooth decay or cavities because of low fluoride in their local drinking water. They usually require a prescription from a pediatrician or dentist. Fluoride-based tablets and lozenges are designed to be chewed or swallowed. Companies also sell drops for babies and infants. And other politicians: > Last week, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced an investigation into the marketing of fluoride toothpastes by Colgate-Palmolive and Proctor and Gamble. A press release from his office described the companies’ promotions as “misleading, deceptive and dangerous.”
- elcritch 1y ago
  It’s not fear mongering if fluoride actually does have negative effects. Well AMA just published a meta-analysis this year linking high fluoride level in drinking water to neurotoxicity in children and lower IQ. While there’s insufficient data to say it’s neurotoxic at the recommended levels it doesn’t seem unlikely. Rather it should be required to be proven safe first. https://ntp.niehs.nih.gov/research/assessments/noncancer/completed/fluoride https://ntp.niehs.nih.gov/research/assessments/noncancer/com... > The NTP monograph concluded, with moderate confidence, that higher levels of fluoride exposure, such as drinking water containing more than 1.5 milligrams of fluoride per liter, are associated with lower IQ in children. The NTP review was designed to evaluate total fluoride exposure from all sources and was not designed to evaluate the health effects of fluoridated drinking water alone. It is important to note that there were insufficient data to determine if the low fluoride level of 0.7 mg/L currently recommended for U.S. community water supplies has a negative effect on children’s IQ.
  - Retric 1y ago
    > doesn’t seem unlikely. It seems unlikely we’d have such issues at concentrations so commonly found in natural springs. Much of the world doesn’t add it because it’s already at those levels naturally and has been throughout billions of years. The question is at what point you should spend money removing it as many communities are forced to, not just how much to add.
    - Auracle 1y ago
      That’s just the naturalistic fallacy. I’m sure there are some places in the world with lead or cadmium or whatever in their water - does that mean we should be adding it to our water supplies if we found out it was good for our teeth at the detriment of our brains?
      - Retric 1y ago
        No, there’s a difference between something being rare and it being common. Fish species living in the ocean don’t have issues drinking salt water, because if they did their ancestors wouldn’t have reproduced. If half of the world’s water supplies had lead levels of X you’d expect evolution to make that specific level a non issue. Obviously lead levels above that can and are still problematic.
throwaway290 1y ago
I heard there was some area in USA where all water is naturally fluoridated and people had abnormally strong teeth and so they started using it in toothpaste after that, maybe it's a myth

skeeter2020 1y ago

Calgary, AB JUST added fluoridation back to the city water today. It doesn't likely have a huge impact for people who can afford and get regular dental care, but for a huge segment of the population could be very impactful, and the majority of health and dental practitioners are happy with this change. We have a whole generation of data from when they removed it a decade-plus ago, so statistics should be pretty solid over the coming years.