Florida becomes second state to ban adding fluoride to drinking water

Ron DeSantis, the Republican governor of Florida, on Thursday signed a bill making it the second state after Utah to ban adding fluoride, or any other additives, to drinking water.

Legislators approved the bill last month that goes against the concerns of public health experts and medical professionals, who say the measure will increase tooth decay and cavities, especially in children.

The law, however, aligns with the positions of two controversial senior figures, Robert F Kennedy Jr, the US health secretary, and Florida’s surgeon general, Joseph Ladapo, that adding fluoride, a natural mineral, to drinking water affects children’s intellectual abilities.

“As dentists, we see the direct consequences fluoride removal has on our patients and it’s a real tragedy when policymakers’ decisions hurt vulnerable kids and adults in the long term,” Brett Kessler, president of the American Dental Association, said in a statement last month.

The website of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), meanwhile, still reflects that fluoride repairs and prevents damage to teeth and their protective enamel coating, as long as it is administered in consistent, low levels.

In Israel, studies have shown that removing fluoride from drinking water supplies caused “a significant increase in restorative dental treatments”.

The bill signed by DeSantis on Thursday takes effect statewide on 1 July, and was touted by the governor as “legislation to protect against forced medication”. It does not specifically mention fluoride, but “the use of certain additives in a water system” is outlawed.

“Some of these people think they know better for you than you do for yourself. They think because they have medical training they should just be able to decree how we live our lives,” DeSantis said at an afternoon press conference in Dade City.

He said fluoride was present in many toothpastes and mouthwashes: “Yes, use fluoride for your teeth, that’s fine. But forcing it in the water supply is basically forced medication on people. They don’t have a choice.”

According to the Florida department of health, about 100 public water systems across the state actively fluoridate their supplies of drinking water.