Some individuals are hypersensitive to fluoride.  According to the Physician’s Desk Reference:

“In hypersensitive individuals, fluorides occasionally cause skin eruptions such as atopic dermatitis, eczema or urticaria. Gastric distress, headache and weakness have also been reported. These hypersensitivity reactions usually disappear promptly after discontinuation of the fluoride.”

Hypersensitive reactions have been reported for both topical fluorides (e.g., toothpaste) and systemic fluorides (e.g., fluoride supplements and fluoridated water).

Hypersensitive Reactions to Systemic Fluorides:

In the 1950s, the renowned allergist George Waldbott discovered that some individuals are hypersensitive to ingested fluoride. In a series of case reports and double-blind studies, Waldbott and other doctors found that relatively small doses of ingested fluoride, including the consumption of fluoridated water, could induce side effects that would quickly reverse after ceasing fluoride exposure. Consistent with Waldbott’s research, the largest ever government-funded clinical trial of fluoride supplements reported that one percent of the children taking the 1 mg fluoride tablets  exhibited hypersensitive reactions. Read more. 

More recently, a Finnish study found that the rate of skin rashes in a city population decreased significantly within months of the city terminating its water fluoridation program.  Although the authors were generally skeptical that fluoridated water could cause harm, they noted that:

“the significant decrease in the number of other skin rashes leaves room for speculation, seeming to favor the view that a small segment of the population may have some kind of intolerance to fluoride. This group of people should be studied further. The most frequently reported symptoms that disappeared from the time of actual to known discontinuation of fluoridation seemed to be itching and dryness of the skin.”
SOURCE: Lamberg M, et al. (1997). Symptoms experienced during periods of actual and supposed water fluoridation. Community Dentistry & Oral Epidemiology 25(4):291-5.

Hypersensitive Reactions to Topical Fluorides:

Studies have documented adverse skin reactions from the use of topical fluoride products, including toothpaste. These skin reactions include perioral dermatitis, stomatitis, and urticaria. Although many dermatologists now consider fluoride toothpaste to be a common cause of perioral dermatitis, the dental community has remained conspicuously silent on the issue, and has conducted virtually no research. Read more.

The possibility that topical fluorides can provoke inflammtory skin disorders gains is supported by carefully controlled studies on animals. When topical fluoride has been applied to the skin of rabbits or rats, inflammation has been repeatedly noted when the skin is cut or damaged prior to the application. Read more.

full text copies of Studies/ReviewsL

• Spittle B. (1993). Allergy and hypersensitivity to fluoride. Fluoride 26:267-73.
• Mellette JR, et al. (1983). Perioral dermatitis. Journal of the Association of Military Dermatologists 9: 3-8.
• Mellette JR, et al. (1976). Fluoride tooth paste: A cause of perioral dermatitis. Archives of Dermatology 112: 730-731.
• Saunders MA. (1975). Fluoride toothpastes: A cause of acne-like eruptions. Archives of Dermatology 111: 793.
• Prival MJ. (1972). Fluorides and human health. Center for Science in the Public Interest, Washington D.C. pp. 23-25.
• Shea JJ, et al. (1967). Allergy to fluoride. Annals of Allergy 25:388-91.
• Waldbott GL. (1958). Allergic Reactions from Fluorides. International Archives of Allergy 12: 347-355.
• Douglas TE. (1957). Fluoride dentifrice and stomatitis. Northwest Medicine 56: 1037-1039.
• Feltman R. (1956). Prenatal and postnatal ingestion of fluoride salts: A progress report. Dental Digest 62: 353-357.

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