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Fluoride exposure linked to ‘detrimental effects' on health of pregnant women, infants

Fluoride exposure linked to ‘detrimental effects' on health of pregnant women, infants

Fox News14-04-2025

Fluoride has long been used as a dental health tool as a means of preventing cavities and fighting tooth decay — but now a new meta-analysis suggests it could have "detrimental effects" on the health of pregnant women and infants.
Researchers analyzed various studies, concluding that exposure to fluoride "offers little benefit to the fetus and young infant."
Systemic fluoride exposure can have a harmful impact on bone strength, thyroid function and cognitive development, according to the findings, which were published in the Annual Review of Public Health.
"Community-wide administration of systemic fluoride may pose an unfavorable risk–benefit ratio for the pregnant woman, fetus and infant," reads the meta-analysis.
Philippe Grandjean, a researcher on the study and professor of environmental medicine at the University of Southern Denmark, told Fox News Digital that "fluoride is toxic to early brain development."
"It is not dependent on the source of the fluoride," Grandjean. "In addition to fluoridated drinking water, we need to limit ingestion of fluoridated toothpaste, which by itself is great for dental health, but don't swallow it."
He recommended avoiding consumption of certain kinds of black tea – "especially those that are grown in fluoride-rich soils (e.g., East Africa and certain parts of China and India)."
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) states that fluoride strengthens teeth and reduces cavities by replacing minerals lost during normal wear and tear.
The review noted that with growing access to fluoride over the years, fluoride's beneficial effect is predominantly topical, citing that there is no need for widespread community fluoridation.
During an appearance last week on "The Story With Martha MacCallum." HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said that "exposure to fluoride is dose-related."
"In other words, the more fluoride you get, the lower your IQ is going to be … the benefits of fluoride are topical," Kennedy added.
"It was originally thought that when we put it in the water back in the 1940s that they were systemic," he went on. "In other words, if you drank it, it would do something to your body to prevent growth of cavities. But that's not how it works."
The HHS secretary added that fluoride is associated with "with extreme losses in bone density."
More than 200 million Americans, or about 75% of the population, currently drink fluoridated water.
"The entire benefit of it comes from topical application ... there's really no reason to have it in the water supply in this era where we have toothpaste and mouthwashes," Kennedy concluded.
Kennedy said he plans to tell the CDC to stop recommending the addition of fluoride to drinking water, the Associated Press reported.
Utah recently became the first state to pass legislation banning fluoride in public drinking water.
Governor Spencer Cox signed the bill into law last month, a move that was applauded by those supporting the "Make America Healthy Again" movement.
For more Health articles, visit www.foxnews.com/health
Lawmakers in other states, including Ohio, South Carolina and Florida, have also submitted proposals to restrict local governments or water system operators from adding fluoride to water.

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This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. New committee members will be announced at some point, but as of Tuesday morning, even top US senators did not know who the replacements would be. The panel is supposed to hold one of its periodic public meetings in late June to discuss the Covid-19 vaccine, as well as shots for RSV and HPV, among others. This is a watershed moment in US public health, one that seems sure to sow confusion among patients and health care providers. The deepening divide between Kennedy's Make American Healthy Again (MAHA) movement and mainstream medicine could make it harder for people who want vaccines to get them, while encouraging more doubt about the value and safety of shots among the general public. Here's what you need to know. Why is Kennedy doing this? The vaccine advisory committee was first convened by the surgeon general in 1964, but it is not enshrined in federal law. That means that Kennedy — as the top official at the US Department of Health and Human Services, which contains the CDC — can change its membership or dissolve the panel entirely if he so desires. Kennedy framed his decision to clear out the members as necessary to restore public trust in the government's vaccine recommendations. In a Wall Street Journal op-ed, Kennedy asserted the committee 'has been plagued with persistent conflicts of interest and has become little more than a rubber stamp for any vaccine.' As health secretary, he has made overhauling vaccine policy a centerpiece of his agenda, both through his rhetoric and policy. Over the past few months, while the worst measles outbreak in 30 years has spread through the US, Kennedy has equivocated in public comments on the value of the measles vaccine, which doctors say is far and away the best tool to combat the disease. He directed an anti-vaccine researcher to scour federal data for evidence of a vaccine-autism link. 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