The public health practice of adding fluoride to drinking water is facing heavy scrutiny from the Trump administration, and toothpaste companies are being pulled into the fray now, too.
The Texas attorney general announced Thursday that he has launched an investigation into two major toothpaste manufacturers – the Colgate-Palmolive Co. and Proctor & Gamble Manufacturing Co., which makes Crest – for “illegally marketing” their products “to parents and children in ways that are misleading, deceptive, and dangerous.”
State Attorney General Ken Paxton says that toothpaste manufacturers “flavor their products and deceptively market them in ways that encourage kids to ingest fluoride toothpaste and mislead their parents to use far more than the safe and recommended amount of fluoride toothpaste.”
“As this investigation continues, I will take aggressive action against any corporation that puts our children’s health at risk,” Paxton said in a statement.
CNN has reached out to both companies named in the investigation but did not immediately receive a response.
Fluoride is a naturally occurring mineral that’s found in soil, rocks and water to varying degrees. It is also a byproduct of fertilizer production. On the recommendation of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization, many cities have added fluoride to their treated drinking water for decades to protect teeth from cavities.
The Texas health department says that “community water fluoridation is safe and the most cost-effective way to deliver fluoride to everyone.”
Recent research has reignited debate about the health risks associated with exposure to high levels of fluoride – particularly its effect on children’s intellectual development – and in April, the US Department of Health and Human Services and US Environmental Protection Agency Administration announced that they would study the science to make a new recommendation on fluoride. HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has also said that he will tell the CDC to stop recommending fluoridation for drinking water in communities.
In March, Utah became the first state to ban fluoride in public drinking water, and Florida is poised to follow as the second state. Some cities have also gotten rid of fluoride from their water, and more are considering the change.
In October, a report from the Cochrane Collaboration, an independent group that systematically analyzes scientific research, found just a slight benefit in adding fluoride to tap water, leading to slightly fewer cavities in children’s baby teeth – but that’s probably because toothpaste had become a better source of protection. The report marks a stark distinction in trends before and after 1975, when toothpaste with fluoride become widely available and more commonly used.
According to the Texas attorney general, the CDC and the American Dental Association recommend putting small amounts of toothpaste on a child’s toothbrush “because of the well-known acute and long-term risks associated with fluoride overdose.”
The ADA, however, has repeatedly affirmed the safety and effectiveness of community water fluoridation and supports the practice. Fluoride in toothpaste adds an “extra benefit in preventing tooth decay,” the ADA says, and toothpastes must contain fluoride to receive the organization’s stamp of approval, known as the ADA Seal of Acceptance.
Original article online at: https://edition.cnn.com/2025/05/01/health/fluoride-toothpaste-texas-investigation