Fact-checkers reject blogger’s claims about fluoride toothpaste

Claims that fluoride toothpaste is toxic are baseless, LSM reported in an article by Justīne Kozlovska and Ronalds Siliņš, produced with Re:Baltica’s Re:check project.

Lifestyle blogger Pēteris Valdmanis published a video in early August warning about fluoride in toothpaste. The video presented toothpaste as a toxic substance, showing a tube marked with a skull and crossbones. Although Valdmanis said he was only asking questions, the message was clear: people should avoid fluoride toothpaste.

During digestion, enzymes break down carbohydrates into simple sugars, which are consumed by bacteria in the mouth. The bacteria convert the sugars into acids that dissolve hydroxyapatite, the main component of tooth enamel. If acid remains in the mouth for a long time, enamel wears away faster than it can recover.

Ilze Maldupa, a lead researcher at Rīga Stradiņš University and a paediatric dentist at the university’s Institute of Stomatology, said fluoride can help because it is the only ion that strengthens hydroxyapatite crystals and enables them to recover in an acidic environment.

Fluoride also inhibits the growth of bacteria. Fewer bacteria produce less acid.

Maldupa said the body does not regulate fluoride in the same way it regulates calcium and certain other substances. As a result, when fluoride is consumed, it is present in saliva, but if it is not consumed on a given day, the body has no source from which to obtain it.

There is no basis for claims that fluoride toothpaste is dangerous because the substance is present in safe quantities. Most toothpaste is spat out, and the amount of fluoride accidentally swallowed is small, averaging 33 times less than the level considered safe by the European Food Safety Authority.

Maldupa said all studies conducted using appropriate methodology had shown that fluoride at normal doses, including the amount available in toothpaste or fluoridated water, had no lasting effects on health.

The only possible harm concerns young children whose permanent teeth are still developing. If they receive too much fluoride while their teeth are developing, an aesthetic defect known as fluorosis can occur, appearing as white lines or brown spots.