Utah dentists call on public to submit comments to FDA in support of ingestible fluoride supplements

SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) — The Utah Dental Association (UDA) is urging the public to submit comments to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in support of ingestible fluoride supplements.

The FDA is considering removing ingestible fluoride supplements from the market entirely, which could leave Utahns completely without access to fluoride. An official hearing will be held in Washington D.C. on July 23, and a Utah dentist, Dr. James Bekker, will be testifying in defense of continued access to fluoride supplements.

ABC4.com spoke to Dr. Darren Chamberlain, a pediatric dentist and a member of the Board of Directors of the Utah Dental Association.

“Without fluoride supplementation, we’re concerned that we’re going to see a huge increase in the amount of decay, because about four months ago, they took away the opportunity to have fluoride in the water in Utah,” Dr. Chamberlain said.

Earlier this year, the Utah state legislature passed H.B. 81, which removed fluoride from public water systems across the state. However, the law also allowed individuals to purchase dietary fluoride supplements without a prescription.

Dr. Chamberlain explained exactly what fluoride does. “It helps put a protective layer on the teeth. We eat a lot of carbohydrates. The bacteria in our mouth and those carbohydrates as well produce an acid, which promotes decay in dental enamel, and so fluoride as a supplement will help strengthen the enamel, make it so that that bacteria acid does not eat away as rapidly.”

In short: “It prevents tooth decay,” he said.

Fluoride is very important in promoting oral health, and there is nothing that has been scientifically shown to prevent tooth decay other than fluoride, Dr. Chamberlain said. It is especially effective in preventing tooth decay in children.

If the FDA removes fluoride supplements from the market, it will be removing access to fluoride from Utahns, the UDA said in a press release.

There would still be the option of topical fluoride, such as in toothpastes, and that will help, Dr. Chamberlain said, but ingesting fluoride in small amounts on a daily basis is by far the most effective way to prevent tooth decay.

According to a press release from the agency, the FDA is considering removing fluoride supplements primarily because they have been shown to alter the gut microbiome, which can be especially concerning in young children. The FDA also cited an association between fluoride and thyroid disorders, weight gain and possibly decreased IQ as additional concerns.

“There isn’t any scientific research to show that,” Dr. Chamberlain said.

“Fluoride has been shown scientifically for decades to be the best way at combatting tooth decay, and if we pull that away, we’re going to see a generation of children that are going to have a huge amount of decay and dental disease,” Dr. Chamberlain stated. “That’s going to cause us to have missed time at school, it’s going to cause pain, abscesses, and could actually affect the adult dentition as well. As a pediatric dentist, that’s a huge concern.”

Dr. Chamberlain added that he took fluoride supplements as a child when he grew up in Cottonwood Heights, which was before there was fluoride in the water. He said he never had cavities as a child, and to this day, he has never had a cavity, and that is because of supplemental fluoride.

“I feel like we, as a public, need to make our voices heard,” Dr. Chamberlain concluded. He encouraged the public to submit public comments.

As dentists, you would think that we would be against this, that it helps the bottom line when I have more cavities come into the office, but our goal is to make sure that the public is healthy, and it pains me when I have children come into my office that have 10, 12, 15 cavities that I have to sedate them, put them under general anesthesia, take them to the hospital, and do dentistry in that kind of environment, where we could, for pennies on the dollar, give children supplemental fluoride that would help prevent cavities.”
Dr. Darren Chamberlain

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Public comments must be submitted on or before Wednesday, July 16, and you can submit them on the FDA website here.