A new bill banning fluoride from Florida’s public waters is passing through the state legislature, but at least 14 cities have already taken action to remove the compounds following a November recommendation from the state surgeon general.
Miami-Dade County on Tuesday became the latest local government to vote against fluoride. If the county mayor doesn’t reject the bill, 2.4 million Miami-Dadewater customers will join nearly 1 million other Floridians who have lost access to fluorescent water in recent months, according to an analysis by the Tampa Bay Times.
Municipalities across the country began adding fluoride to water to combat tooth decay almost 80 years ago. This is a problem that is popular in the United States today. As of 2022, more than seven in 10 Americans who obtain water from the community’s water system had obtained fluorinated water.
However, notable officials such as US Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Florida surgeon Jospeff Ladapop opposed putting fluoride in drinking water. Ladapo recommends removing it, linking fluoride to a lowered child IQ and ADHD, causing problems with thyroid problems in adults. However, the studies he cites involve much higher levels of fluoride exposure than those recommended in the US.
Florida is not just a state that questioned the location of fluoride in public water. In late March, Utah became the first state to ban fluoride in public water systems.
In Florida, about 4 million of the state’s 23 million residents already live in areas that do not freeze water, with recent decisions in Lakeland and around 12 other cities adding another million.
Palm Bay, one of 14 cities that abandon local government fluorination, voted in January to make an effort to fix its fluorination system after it broke in 2017.
Ladapo travels around the state, including stops to Clearwater, urging local officials to remove fluoride.
Ladapo claims it is not necessary to add it to public water, and toothpaste and mouthwash provide ample protection against tooth decay.
“It is public health misconduct to continue adding fluoride to community water systems accessible to pregnant women and children, as there are additional sources of fluoride that people can access on this day and age,” he said at a November 2024 press conference at Winter Haven.
The American Dental Association said Radapop had made “misinformation and dangerous” comments.
Dental diseases, including cavities, are one of the most common chronic diseases in the United States and disproportionately affect people of low socioeconomic backgrounds.
A 2017-2018 oral health study in Florida found that almost a quarter of children aged 3-6 years suffer from untreated dental rot. The incidence was high among uninsured and non-Hispanic black children.
Approximately 6 million people live in 274 areas of Florida’s shortage of dental professionals. Dentists are concentrated in densely populated areas, leaving rural communities unserved.
Even people living in areas with more dentists could struggle to get treatment, as nearly 80% of Florida dentists reported not accepting Medicaid patients.
The Florida Dental Association is opposed to Florida laws that prevent local governments from putting fluoride into public water. Neither the House or Senate versions use the term “fluoride,” but both exclude the addition of anything to drinking water “mainly for health-related purposes.”
The efforts are supported by the governor. Like Ladapop, Gov. Ron DeSantis said he believes that water fluorination is being forced on people.
“Do we want forced medicines or do we want people to choose medicine?” DeSantis said at a press conference in Tallahassee in early March.
However, some cities are not udging. Cocoa, Bartow and Port Orange each voted in March to keep it up. Clearwater City Council also rejected a proposal to remove fluoride on Friday, citing research supporting safety and efficacy in cavity prevention.
Hillsboro County has put fluoride in the water, at least for now, after a county board vote detained in February.
