Overview

• Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has launched an investigation into Colgate and Procter & Gamble, alleging that their marketing of kids’ toothpaste encourages excessive fluoride ingestion.
• Paxton’s office claims that cartoon-themed branding and flavoring mislead parents and children, leading to unsafe use beyond CDC-recommended amounts.
• The investigation references a 2024 National Toxicology Program study that suggests fluoride exposure may lower IQ in children, though the study has faced criticism for methodological flaws.
• This marks a shift in the fluoride debate from water fluoridation to consumer products, following state bans on water fluoridation in Utah and Florida earlier this year.
• The CDC currently advises using a rice-sized smear of toothpaste for young children, but research indicates parents often apply six to seven times that amount.