Robert Kennedy Jr. is the nephew of assassinated US President John F. Kennedy, a Trump supporter, anti-vaccines and possibly the country’s next health secretary.

Kennedy has already made some plans. In a recent post on X, he wrote that the day Trump is sworn in as president, water fluoridation will also stop in the US. Fluoride is a substance that is included in industrial waste and is believed to cause many diseases, including bone cancer, developmental disorders of a neurological nature, and appears to lower the IQ of children.

Fluoride is found as a metal both in nature and in the human body – especially in bones and tooth enamel, but also in blood and gastric fluid.

Natural sources of fluoride are black and green tea, fish and asparagus. In Germany, toothpaste and salt contain fluoride. In other countries, such as the US, drinking water also contains fluoride.

Why fluoride in drinking water?

Fluoride is present in small amounts in water anyway. In the early 20th century, scientists found that in areas of the US where the water had more fluoride, there were fewer children who suffered from tooth decay. Thus, it was decided to add fluoride to the drinking water in other areas of the country, a practice that is still in place today.

“A good amount of fluoride helps with dental health,” says toxicologist Carsten Schle. Fluoride is not essential for humans, however it facilitates the remineralization of tooth enamel, thus reducing the risk of tooth decay. The American health service CDC has even classified fluoride as one of the 10 most effective treatments of the 20th century.

But some, as can be seen from Kennedy’s post, now consider fluoride to be poisonous and responsible for many different diseases.

Can fluoride become dangerous to our health?

According to toxicologist Schle, the same applies to fluoride as it does to most things: “The dose makes the poison.” By using a toothpaste it is virtually impossible to overdose on fluoride – after all, we spit the toothpaste out, not swallow it.

However, things are different when it comes to water and salt. According to the CDC, one liter of water contains 0.7 mg of fluoride. According to the German Federal Institute for the Protection of Consumer Health and Veterinary Medicine (BgVV) this amount corresponds to the recommended daily dose for a small child of one to four years. For adults, the Institute recommends no more than 3.8 mg of fluoride per day.

Anyone who takes in larger amounts of fluoride may experience white spots or even brown marks on their teeth. However, if you take in 10-25mg of fluoride per day over a period of years, you can develop bone problems, such as more frequent fractures.

Does fluoride affect children’s intelligence?

A 2023 analysis investigated whether fluoride in drinking water can harm brain development. The researchers found that the fluoride content of water considered safe by the CDC could actually have negative consequences on brain development and through it on children’s intelligence.

The study’s authors wrote, however, that the results of their analysis may have been skewed by the varying quality of the different studies, and that “there was a general tendency not to find a strong association [μεταξύ της ποσότητας του φθορίου και της πιο περιορισμένης ανάπτυξης του εγκεφάλου] in the more carefully conducted studies’.

In another analysis, it is stated that IQ decreases only when one takes in more fluoride than is recommended. Based on the existing evidence, however, it is impossible to establish beyond doubt whether fluoride can cause any kind of neurological disorder or not.

If fluoride is removed from January 20th from drinking water in the US, it will not even reduce neurological diseases according to Carsten Schle. However, the incidence of caries may increase in children and adults.

Edited by: Giorgos Passas