News Archive

Hassan is an instructor in pediatrics. “The fluoride in our water is completely safe,” I heard myself saying with practiced confidence. As has become increasingly common, I was debating the health of America’s children with an inquisitive family during a routine emergency department consultation. As a physician, I felt an instinctive need to defend medical […]

In a recent study published in the journal Nutrition Reviews, researchers in the United Kingdom explored the effects of fluoride on gut microbiota. The Human Microbiome Project has reported that more than two-thirds of the human microbiome resides in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract. Advances in computational methods and molecular sequencing have provided an understanding of […]

It’s safe to say that Americans have been jerked hither and yon when it comes to health issues. Many remember the now-defunct food pyramid of decades ago, when fluoride conquered tooth decay, and consuming one to three alcoholic drinks a week helped you live longer. Once upon a time, these edicts were taken as gospel, […]

Who: Two groups of parents filed separate class action lawsuits against Hello Products LLC and Perrigo Co. Why: The complaints claim Hello Products and Perrigo falsely advertised their respective Hello Kids and Firefly fluoride rinses as safe for young children. Where: The class action lawsuits were filed in California and Illinois federal courts. Two groups […]

BARTOW, Fla.—The lights were flickering on above the Little League fields outside the Bartow Civic Center when Dr. Johnny Johnson pulled up in his Ford F-250 and emerged wearing jeans and boots. Florida Surgeon General Dr. Joseph Ladapo arrived in a suit, a small entourage trailing him. Then the two men strode inside to spar […]

Water keeps us alive, but what happens when something meant to help us raises new concerns? For decades, governments have added fluoride to drinking water to protect teeth, believing it to be a simple solution for cavity prevention. However, a recent study from Karolinska Institutet in Sweden suggests fluoride exposure – especially in pregnancy and […]

Employees at the National Cancer Institute, which is part of the National Institutes of Health, received internal guidance last week to flag manuscripts, presentations or other communications for scrutiny if they addressed “controversial, high profile, or sensitive” topics. Among the 23 hot-button issues, according to internal records reviewed by ProPublica: vaccines, fluoride, peanut allergies, autism. […]

Elevated concentrations of fluoride can occur in well water, and in some countries, it is added to drinking water to counteract caries in the population. A study from Karolinska Institutet in Sweden now supports a few previous studies indicating that exposure to fluoride during the fetal stage or early childhood may impair cognition in children. […]

WASHINGTON — Dr. Marty Makary rose to national attention by skewering the medical establishment in books and papers and bashing the federal response to COVID-19 on TV. Now the Johns Hopkins University surgeon and researcher has been nominated to lead the Food and Drug Administration. The agency — responsible for regulating products ranging from toothpaste […]

When Frederick McKay graduated from the University of Pennsylvania’s Dental School in 1900, he had no idea that his new dental practice would lead to one of the most significant public health discoveries of the 20th century. Setting up shop in Colorado Springs, McKay soon noticed something unusual — many residents had mottled brown stains on their […]