Note:  I am still working on a new method to increase height.

Sometimes things that are good for bone development are bad for longitudinal bone growth.  Fluoride could be such a case.  We can’t say definitively that fluoride stunts growth but it’s definitely something to watch out for.  Apparently, there is some concern that babies can have too much fluoride which makes sense given their small body size.

It should be noted also that sometimes things that inhibit longitudinal bone growth in one bone can stimulate in another.  This can occur in the spine for example.

Fluoride Inhibits Longitudinal Bone Growth by Acting Directly at the Growth Plate in Cultured Neonatal Rat Metatarsal Bones

“Excessive intake of fluoride inhibits bone growth in both humans and animals. It is unknown whether fluoride acts directly on the growth plate to inhibit longitudinal bone growth, and its mechanism of action has not been elucidated. In this study, we used an organ culture system and SW1353 cells to evaluate the effects of fluoride on endochondral ossification. Neonatal rat metatarsal bones were dissected and cultured with or without fluoride for 7 days. The total length and width of the metatarsal rudiments and the length of the calcification zone were measured. Chondrocyte proliferation, differentiation, and apoptosis were analyzed by immunohistochemistry and TUNEL assay in sectioned bones. The apoptosis was detected by flow cytometry, and the expression of apoptosis-related proteins Bax, Bcl-2, and Caspase-3 were detected by western blotting in SW1353 cells. Linear measurements demonstrated that fluoride induced a biphasic effect on longitudinal bone growth in organ culture, with a significant growth inhibition at a high concentration (10⁻⁴ M) and a stimulatory action at low concentration (10⁻⁶ M) of fluoride{that’s a pretty significant difference between high and low concentration so you can pretty safely take fluoride}. Histomorphometrical analysis of growth plate from fluoride-exposed metatarsal rudiments showed a significant reduction in the height of the proliferative and hypertrophic chondrocyte zones. Analysis of the Col2α1 and Col10α1 expression by immunohistochemistry revealed fluoride-suppressed metatarsal growth plate chondrocyte proliferation and differentiation. In addition, fluoride increased the number of apoptotic chondrocytes in the metatarsal growth plate. Western blotting showed an up-regulated expression of Caspase-3 and Bax and down-regulated expression of anti-apoptotic protein Bcl-2 after treatment with 5 × 10⁻⁴ M fluoride in SW1353 cells. Our findings indicated that fluoride inhibited longitudinal bone growth by acting directly at the growth plate in cultured neonatal rat metatarsal bones. Such growth inhibition was mediated by suppressing proliferation and differentiation, increasing apoptosis of resting chondrocytes and causing premature cell senescence in the growth plate.”

If you read the paper it says that high doses of fluoride can enlarge the growth plate which indicates that an enlarged growth plate is not always beneficial for longitudinal bone growth.

In the paper it says 10 -6 M of fluoride increased Longitudinal bone growth but it was not statistically significant but any longitudinal bone growth is good.

The question is can fluoride in toothpaste, drinking water, and other dental sources reach high concentration and stunt growth?