The claim

There is an article circulating on the Internet that warns about the dangers of fluoride in toothpastes. This is said to be harmful to the thyroid.

Our conclusion

The dose makes the poison. With normal use, you consume up to 3.8 mg of fluoride per day. It becomes worrying when the quantity is around 3.5 tubes or more.

There is an article circulating on the Internet about the dangers of brushing your teeth, or more precisely, the supposedly harmful substance fluoride. This post is now also being shared on social media. Now, should we worry about taking care of the health of our teeth?

In a Facebook post it is only briefly written that fluoride attacks the thyroid. Symbols of toxic and harmful substances are included in the image, as well as a link to a blog that takes up and elaborates on this claim.

“Fluoride attacks the thyroid” / Facebook screenshot
“Fluoride attacks the thyroid” / Screenshot Facebook

Among other things, it is written here (sic!): “Since the 1940s, fluorine has been considered the panacea for caries prevention. It is easy to overlook the fact that fluorine is a dangerous poison whose toxicity is higher than that of lead and which can only be handled in the chemistry laboratory with extensive safety precautions. The same substance that is added to our toothpaste – sodium fluoride – is also a very effective insecticide or rat poison!”

Fluorine is not the same as fluoride

Danger! Do not confuse! Fluorine is a pale yellowish and highly reactive gas or halogen that is actually toxic and also corrosive. However, this refers to the elemental form and not to bound forms such as sodium fluoride, which is found in toothpastes. As soon as fluorine binds with a substance, it also loses a large part of its toxic effect.

In short: Yes, fluorine is dangerous. Fluoride, on the other hand, is important for us and our health. It protects our teeth by reducing the chances of acid and bacteria getting to the enamel.

Can toothpastes endanger our health?

Here it is like with so many things: the dose makes the poison.
Federal Institute for Risk Assessment , if you take an acutely high amount of fluoride, it can cause “nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, diarrhea, dizziness, headaches, (…) and even death”. – But how much is “too much”?

Stiftung Warentest, the daily intake is 0.4 to 1.5 milligrams. In contrast, the German Nutrition Society of the daily ration is 2.9 to 3.8 milligrams per day. European Food Safety Authority also conforms to this value .

However, the dangerous amount is 5 milligrams of fluoride per kg of body weight. For adults between 60 and 100 kg, this means an amount of 300 to 500 milligrams in one day. ( HERE )
The proportion of fluoride in a toothpaste is a maximum of 0.15 percent, which results in the following calculation example:

"An adult weighing 70 kg would have to eat more than 3.5 tubes of adult toothpaste (1500 ppm fluoride, 75 ml), a 3-year-old child weighing 15 kg would have to eat two tubes of children's toothpaste (1000 ppm fluoride, 50 ml)."

Christoph Benz from the Federal Dental Association

In children there is a possibility of so-called dental fluorosis in the event of an overdose. They can be recognized by white to yellow-brown discolorations on the tooth enamel. This poses a risk that the tooth enamel's resistance to tooth decay will be reduced. According to Christoph Benz, this is very rarely the case in Germany, and he further explains that the risk of developing fluorosis decreases from the age of six.

And the thyroid?

in an interview with MDR , which discussed Hashimoto, a chronic inflammation of the thyroid gland. Specifically related to this, endocrinologist Dany Wieländer explained when asked whether patients with hypothyroidism should avoid toothpaste with fluoride:

“Higher doses of fluoride can actually inhibit thyroid function. However, the dose in commercial toothpastes is harmless. Plus, most of the toothpaste is spit out again.”

Dany Wieländer, interview with MDR

Conclusion

You would have to consume a lot of toothpaste to experience symptoms. So if you don't feel like consuming more than three tubes of toothpaste in one go, you shouldn't worry.

There is no evidence of a health-endangering effect, as written in the article mentioned above, when used normally.
We are also talking about fluorine, which should not be confused here!

Also interesting: Waste separation contributes to climate protection

Source: DPA , Envivas , Weleda


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