CLAIM: Dental products containing fluoride are unsafe because the substance has been directly linked to dementia and Alzheimer’s.
THE FACTS: While consuming high levels of fluoride can pose some health risks, experts say there is no research showing that topical products containing fluorides — such as toothpaste and mouthwash — cause dementia or Alzheimer’s. Still, an Instagram user is cautioning against going to dentists because of fluoride, calling dentists “one of the biggest scams I’ve ever seen.”
"They don’t know that fluoride is a neurotoxin that’s been directly linked to dementia and Alzheimer’s,” the user claims in a video. But experts say there is no research proving that topical fluoride products — in other words, products not intended for digestion, such as toothpaste and mouthwash — cause dementia or Alzheimer’s.
Christine Till, a neuropsychologist and professor at York University in Canada who has researched fluoride, said she was not aware of studies linking topical fluoride use to those conditions. And the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Division of Oral Health told the AP in a statement that the agency “is not aware of any study that purports to link use of topical fluoride products, when used appropriately, to any systemic health risk.”
Fluoride is a naturally occurring mineral that’s found in water and used in toothpaste and dental products to strengthen teeth; it can also be found in foods and beverages. For decades it has been added to many public water supplies as an oral health measure, the CDC explains. But excessive levels of consumption can present health risks such as brittle bones. The U.S. in 2015 lowered the recommended amount of fluoride in drinking water because some kids were getting too much, causing white splotches on their teeth. Fluoride consumption has continued to stir controversy and scientists say there is evidence that consuming fluoride in high levels may pose further risks, particularly for young children.
“I’m quite convinced that in utero or infantile exposure to fluoride ingestion is not a good thing for the developing brain of children,” said Linda Birnbaum, a former director of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, part of the National Institutes of Health, and of the National Toxicology Program. The National Toxicology Program has been continuing to evaluate the issue. Jennifer Sass, a senior scientist at Natural Resources Defense Council, said the legitimate concerns in the scientific community about fluoride consumption don’t justify avoiding the dentist because of topical fluoride use. The CDC advises that children less than age 2 only use toothpaste with fluoride if recommended by a dentist or doctor.
— Associated Press writer Angelo Fichera in New York contributed this report.