Study: Fluoridated Water Protects Children’s Teeth but Ruins Brains

A study by D.A. Geier and M.R. Geier titled “Tooth decay prevention and neurodevelopmental disorder risk following childhood fluoride exposure” posted on 2 April 2025 has found that although fluoridated water does help maintain dental health, it causes other problems.

The study obtained data from the Florida Medicaid system. The sample included 73,254 children in total for which there is data for the first 10 years of life, of which 25,662 are classified “fluoride-exposed” and 2,509 “fluoride-unexposed”. The year of birth ranged from 1990 to 2002. The mean is 1997 with a standard deviation of 3.32 years.

Exposure to fluoridated water is estimated and there is no data for consumption of products such as sodas that may contain fluoridated water.

In any case, the observations are interesting. The initial “health/socioeconomic status” incidence rates are quite different for the following conditions:

• Disturbances in tooth eruption – 0.35 fluoride-exposed and 0.28 fluoride-unexposed.

• Lead toxicity – 4.66 fluoride-exposed and 16.74 fluoride-unexposed.

• Noxious influences affecting fetus/infant via placenta or breast milk – 2.78 fluoride-exposed and 0.88 fluoride-unexposed.

As for tooth decay (TD), the risk ratio of fluoride-exposed compared to fluoride-unexposed is 0.28 (95% CI, 0.322 to 0.701) so fluoridated water seems to be an obvious benefit according to this study.

However, the risk ratio for autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is 6.26 (95% CI, 2.59 to 15.1), intellectual disability (ID) 2.02 (95% CI, 1.13 to 3.60) and specific delays in development (SDD) 1.24 (95% CI, 1.14 to 1.34).

In other words, fluoridated water might protect children’s teeth but ruin their brains.

Table 4 [partial]: Frequency modeling results to evaluate outcomes examined among children with fluoridated water exposure as compared to children without fluoridated water exposure.

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