The future of fluoride in Miami-Dade’s drinking water was decided by county leaders Tuesday afternoon as they voted to remove it. NBC6’s Steve Litz reports
The future of fluoride in Miami-Dade's drinking water was decided by county leaders Tuesday afternoon as they voted to remove it.
County commissioners voted to stop adding it from tap water after Commissioner Roberto Gonzalez sponsored legislation to remove small amounts of fluoride in drinking water.
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WATCH HERE"Because Governor DeSantis, because [Florida Commissioner of Agriculture] Wilton Simpson, because Donald Trump are behind the removal of fluoride, and because [U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services] Robert F. Kennedy, a longtime Democrat, is for the removal, you have folks that are just attacking it," Gonzalez said Tuesday. "I think it's disgusting to politicize it."
Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava has 10 days to veto the item. If not, fluoride will stop being added to the county’s water supply in 30 days.
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Adding fluoride to the water is a decades-old practice aimed at supporting dental health.
Florida Surgeon General Dr. Joseph Ladapo was in the front seat for the debate and is one of the loudest voices in the state who feels fluoride in public drinking water is bad.
Back in March, Ladapo said fluoride could lead to developmental issues in children and could be harmful to babies in the womb.
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“It is very important to be critical of scientific studies,” Ladapo said. “My hope is that this county and every county in Florida stops adding fluoride to water. It shouldn’t be happening.”
Some local dentists question the data the surgeon general uses to back his position.
“I trust the science," said Dr. Rick Mars, the Dental Care Group. "I follow the science community. And we should always follow the science. We shouldn’t follow a politician coming out, making a lot of noise about it because there has not been a direct correlation with a scientific study where the data makes sense.”
Fluoride is added to tap water in most states across the U.S. to help prevent tooth decay and for many decades has widely been considered a safe practice.
According to its county website, Miami-Dade first began fluoridating its water in 1958.
"Miami-Dade County has been adding fluoride to the water for 60 years, it has been constantly verified scientifically and medically that it is safe, we know that it provides protection for dental care and prevents cavities," Levine Cava said Tuesday ahead of the commissioners' vote. "We use a very very low level, well within the guidelines and we're very satisfied that this is the best way to proceed."
The county notes the amount of fluoride in county drinking water is .6 to .8 parts per million, significantly below the EPA's maximum allowance of four parts per million.
The first state to remove fluoride from its drinking water was Utah.
