Fluoride supplements not found to be safe or effective

Dec 19 2011

According to the Cochrane Oral Health Group, fluoride supplements fail to reduce tooth decay in primary teeth, permanent teeth cavity-reduction is dubious and health risks are little studied. Further, "When fluoride supplements were compared with topical fluorides or with other preventive measures, there was no differential effect on permanent or deciduous teeth," write Cochrane researchers Ismail et al, reports the New York State Coalition Opposed to Fluoridation, Inc. (NYSCOF).

Fluoride supplements are routinely prescribed to children who don't live in water fluoridated communities. They are endorsed and encouraged by the US Centers for Disease Control (CDC).

The Cochrane research team reports, "We rated 10 trials as being at unclear risk of bias and one at high risk of bias, and therefore the trials provide weak evidence about the efficacy of fluoride supplements." The team "found limited information on the adverse effects associated with the use of fluoride supplements."

In the early 1980's, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation research first revealed fluoride tablets and mouth rinses failed to reduce tooth decay.

But this inconvenient fact is still  ignored by the CDC.

"Obviously, the CDC's fluoride supplement endorsement cannot be trusted because there is no science to support it," says attorney Paul Beeber, NYSCOF President. "Further, CDC fails to effectively communicate its own warning to not mix infant formula with fluoridated water. Why should we trust CDC's fluoridation endorsements?" asks Beeber.

Fluoride supplements "have not been found by FDA to be safe or effective," according to the US National Library of Medicine.

Before testing was required, fluoride supplements slipped into common usage without FDA approval based on the presumed safety and effectiveness of water fluoridation. But, tooth decay crises occur in all fluoridated cities, states and countries and fluoridation's safety is deeply in doubt.

A 2008 Journal of the American Dental Association systematic review reported that fluoride supplements deliver no benefits to primary teeth but increase dental fluorosis risk - white spotted, yellow, brown and/or pitted teeth now afflicting almost half of adolescents, according to the CDC.

A meta-analysis in Community Dentistry and Oral Epidemiology (2/99) reported: "In non-fluoridated communities, the use of fluoride supplements during the first 6 years of life is associated with a significant increase in the risk of developing dental fluorosis."

"It is therefore concluded that the risks of using supplements in infants and young children outweigh the benefits…fluoride supplements should no longer be used for young children in North America," writes Burt (Fall 1999 Journal of Public Health Dentistry).

Belgium stopped selling fluoride supplements in 2002 because documentation revealed that fluoride can cause physical and neurological harm with little evidence of decay reduction.

According to the National Library of Medicine, fluoride's side effects include:

• staining of teeth
• unusual increase in saliva
• salty or soapy taste
• stomach pain
• upset stomach
• vomiting  
• diarrhea
• rash
• weakness
• tremor
• seizures

The FDA asks that fluoride drug side effects, including dental fluorosis, be reported at https://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/medwatch/medwatch-online.htm or [1-800-332-1088].

Despite growing scientific evidence that shows ingesting fluoride does not reduce tooth decay and can be harmful to health, including lowering IQ, it seems the CDC has convinced the Pew Charitable Trust to use its lobbying power and political clout to force more fluoride into Americans via the water supply, even where voters rejected fluoridation.