This fact sheet is one in a series of summaries about hazardous substances and their health effects. This information is important because this substance may harm you. The effects of exposure to any hazardous substance depend on the dose, the duration, how you are exposed, personal traits and habits, and whether other chemicals are present. Exposure to fluorides, hydrogen fluoride, and fluorine happens mostly from eating contaminated foods, breathing workplace air, or eating toothpaste. Exposures are usually low and not harmful.
High exposures can cause lung, skin, and bone damage.
Fluorides, hydrogen fluoride, and fluorine are chemically related. Fluorine is a pale, yellow-green gas that has a strong, sharp odor. It combines with hydrogen to make hydrogen fluoride, a colorless gas. Hydrogen fluoride dissolves in water to form hydrofluoric acid. Fluorine also combines with metals to make fluorides like sodium fluoride and calcium fluoride, both white solids.