The National Toxicology Program

This section is dedicated to the National Toxicology Program’s (NTP) long involvement with the issue of fluoride's toxicity. The NTP is the scientific research arm for U.S. regulatory agencies. It comes under the aegis of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS). The NIEHS, in turn, comes under the umbrella of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). -Updated May 2, 2023 (EC).

NTP: February 9, 2021, statement


February 9, 2021

NIEHS/NTP statement on the NASEM peer-review of
Draft NTP Monograph on the Systematic Review of Fluoride Exposure and Neurodevelopment
and Cognitive Health Effects.

The National Toxicology Program (NTP) analyzed more than 500 fluoride studies and produced the September 2020 report titled Draft NTP Monograph on the Systematic Review of Fluoride Exposure and Neurodevelopment and Cognitive Health Effects. NTP concluded that fluoride may be a hazard for brain development and IQ in children, and fluoride was identified in the monograph as a “presumed” hazard. Because there is tremendous public interest in fluoride’s benefits and potential risks, NTP asked the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) to conduct an independent evaluation of the draft monograph. The NASEM committee did not support the NTP conclusions and determined that more clear and convincing evidence is needed.

Fluoride’s many benefits to oral health were not evaluated by NTP, and the draft monograph cannot be used to determine whether public water fluoridation is safe. NTP only sought to assess whether fluoride could present a potential health hazard at any exposure level, since people are now exposed to fluoride from many sources such as dental hygiene products, food and beverages including black and green tea, and community water supplies.

NTP thanks the NASEM committee for reviewing the draft monograph and providing insightful and helpful input. We will carefully consider all of the committee’s comments as we finalize and publish the NTP Fluoride Monograph as a “state of the science” document later in 2021.


• Original online at http://fluoridealert.org/wp-content/uploads/niehs-ntp.statement.feb-9.2021.ocr_.pdf