Many Americans are concerned there’s something in the water – fluoride. The use of fluoride has long been a subject to controversy – it been called by some a public health miracle, and others a communist plot. Now, fluoride is in the news again after research shows it might harm the IQ of children.
The new research, published by JAMA Pediatrics, found “significant inverse associations between fluoride exposure and children’s IQ scores.” The meta-analysis analyzed 74 studies “investigating children’s IQ scores and prenatal or postnatal fluoride exposure.”
Another study from 2024 suggested further problems for children and fluoride. This study, also published in JAMA, looked at 229 women and their children to assess the effects of prenatal exposure to fluoride. The results of the study suggested “that prenatal fluoride exposure may increase risk of neurobehavioral problems among children living in an optimally fluoridated area in the US.”
Even the government’s own research agency, the National Toxicology Program, published concerns about fluoride. Their report, released in August of 2024 concluded that “There is also some evidence that fluoride exposure is associated with other neurodevelopmental and cognitive effects in children.” Though they reported more studies are needed to “understand the potential for lower fluoride exposure to affect children’s IQ.”
Some parents have taken frustration with fluoride to the courts. In January 2025, Proctor & Gamble and Colgate-Palmolive, both major toothpaste producers, were named as defendants in six lawsuits “targeting the sale of toothpaste and mouth rinse for young children,” according to Reuters. The parents who brought the one of the suits argue deceptive marketing can “lead parents and caregivers to believe they are formulated to be extra safe for children – which Defendant knows is false.”
Critics of fluoride are not surprised by the mineral’s increased scrutiny. Dr. Anthony Jay, a biochemist, has been avoiding fluoride for over ten years. Jay drinks water purified through reverse osmosis and uses non-fluoridated toothpaste. “You definitely don’t need fluoride…it’s not an essential nutrient,” he told Drew Mariani. Jay is convinced people get cavities not from a lack of fluoride, but from excess sugar.
In the United States, around 62% of the population has access fluoridated water, though the percentage varies by state. However, Jay notes that most western European countries ban fluoride in water. “It’s been illegal for a long time; that should tell us something.”