Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a federal lawsuit in 2020 seeking to overturn the presidential election results of four swing states. Credit: Courtesy Photo / Texas Attorney General's Office

Texas Agricultural Commissioner Sid Miller in a Thursday press release applauded state Attorney General Ken Paxton’s investigation into the nation’s two largest toothpaste manufacturers, adding that Paxton’s crusade is crucial in “Making America Healthy Again.”

“With a growing body of evidence, including a recent National Toxicology Program study linking excessive fluoride exposure to lower IQ in kids, we have a responsibility to take this issue seriously and protect our little ones,” the Republican ag commissioner said in a statement.

In his latest instance of political grandstanding, Paxton — also a Republican — last week announced his office launched an investigation into Colgate and Procter & Gamble for their “illegal marketing” of toothpaste to parents and kids in ways that are misleading, deceptive, and dangerous.”

“I will use every tool available to protect our kids from dangerous levels of fluoride exposure and deceptive advertising,” Paxton said in a statement. “As this investigation continues, I will take aggressive action against any corporation that puts our children’s health at risk.”

Paxton’s investigation and Miller’s statement cite an August 2024 study commissioned by the National Toxicology Program on why Texas residents should be skeptical of fluoride, a chemical that prevents tooth decay, mitigates tooth sensitivity and reduces cavity formation.

However, the study’s abstract states “there were insufficient data to determine if the low fluoride level of 0.7 mg/L currently recommended for U.S. community water supplies has a negative effect on Children’s IQ.”

Instead, the study “with moderate confidence” reports that fluoride levels more than double the amount used in community water supplies “showed an association” with lower IQ levels in children.

Given their MAGA allegiances, it seems likely Paxton’s and Miller’s sudden pearl clutching about fluoride stems from the appointment of prominent vaccine skeptic Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to head Health and Human Services under the Trump administration. For years, Kennedy has described fluoride use as “harmful,” even blaming it for autism.

Conspiracy theories about fluoridation first gained traction in the ’50s with the help of the ultraconservative John Birch Society, which claimed fluoridation was a communist plot to undermine American mental capacity.

The theory again reemerged in the early 2000s, when right-wing entertainer job Alex Jones claimed chemicals in the water were being used to “turn the freaking frogs gay.”

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This article appears in Apr 30 – May 13, 2025.

Michael Karlis is a multimedia journalist at the San Antonio Current, whose coverage in print and on social media focuses on local and state politics. He is a graduate of American University in Washington,...