The Food and Drug Administration has announced it will ban ingestible prescription fluoride products for children, citing growing evidence that they may cause developmental harm — including reduced IQ scores.

Unlike fluoride toothpaste or rinses that are not meant to be swallowed, these prescription forms are taken orally and were previously used to prevent cavities in kids. However, the FDA now warns the risks outweigh the benefits.

A recent meta-analysis reviewed by the agency examined 74 global studies and found that 86% of them reported an inverse relationship between fluoride exposure and child IQ — meaning the more fluoride children consumed, the lower their IQ measured. The studies included measurements of fluoride in urine and drinking water, strengthening the link between ingestion and cognitive impairment.

In addition to cognitive concerns, the FDA cited other health issues such as thyroid dysfunction, altered gut microbiomes in infants, and even long-term weight gain. “For the same reason that fluoride may kill bacteria on teeth, it may also kill intestinal bacteria important for a child’s health,” said FDA Commissioner Dr. Marty Makary, who was confirmed in March.

Makary has tasked the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research with completing a full safety review by October 31. Simultaneously, the Department of Health and Human Services will issue new dental hygiene guidelines that do not rely on systemic fluoride. “The best way to prevent cavities in children is by avoiding excessive sugar intake and good dental hygiene, not by altering a child’s microbiome,” Makary added.

Attorney Michael Connett, who has been fighting fluoride’s use in public health for nearly a decade, applauded the FDA’s move. His 2016 petition against the agency called for fluoride supplements to be banned as unsafe and ineffective. “I think it is an excellent decision, and long overdue,” he said.

The FDA’s reversal comes as momentum builds nationwide against fluoride in general. Utah made headlines in March by becoming the first state to ban fluoride in its public water systems. Florida is expected to follow suit, with Gov. Ron DeSantis and Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo expressing strong opposition to fluoridation just last week.

Ladapo, speaking at a recent press event, mocked defenders of water fluoridation, likening them to the “Peanuts” character Linus clinging to his security blanket. “There are doctors, dentists, [and] public health leaders who are holding on to fluoridation like that blanket,” he said, calling their resistance “emotional, not scientific.”

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. joined the chorus, calling the FDA’s action a critical step in “safeguarding the health and development of our children.” Kennedy, who has made health reform a major part of the Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) initiative, has focused on exposing outdated and unsafe public health practices.

This regulatory shift underscores a growing reevaluation of long-standing assumptions about fluoride’s safety. While its benefits for dental health have been widely touted for decades, critics argue that those benefits can be maintained without systemic ingestion — and without the serious side effects now associated with overexposure.

As new safety guidelines are developed and more states weigh water fluoridation bans, the FDA’s action signals a decisive turn in public health policy, one that favors caution over convention and transparency over tradition. Parents and pediatricians alike are now being urged to reassess the use of fluoride supplements and look toward safer, more holistic methods of oral health care.