MIAMI, Fla — Florida is on track to become one of the nation's first states to ban the addition of fluoride to public drinking water. Governor Ron DeSantis announced Tuesday that he intends to sign Senate Bill 700—a sweeping agricultural bill that includes the fluoride restriction—making the measure law across all of the state’s cities and counties.
“Jamming fluoride in the water supply, irrespective of whatever for the teeth when you can get that other ways,” DeSantis said, “you know, that's impinging on other people's ability, you know, to have access to water in ways that they may not want to be exposed to what is essentially a forced medication.”
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The decision comes despite warnings from national medical organizations and decades of research showing fluoride’s positive effects on dental health.
Supporters of the ban argue that even limited research pointing to risks—especially at high levels of exposure—should be enough to reconsider mass fluoridation. They cite studies that suggest excessive fluoride consumption can impact brain development, especially in young children.
“It’s just like, literally, guys with this fluoride issue, you have multiple research groups in different states in different countries, finding the same things, right? Are they? Are they all just making it up?” asked Florida Surgeon General Dr. Joe Ladapo. “I mean, can you actually, in a sane mind, ignore all of that evidence?”
However, the scientific consensus remains firmly in support of fluoride use. The American Dental Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and the Florida Dental Association all oppose the ban.
Dr. Beatriz E. Terry, a periodontist and former head of the Florida Dental Association, warns that this change could undermine decades of progress in public dental health.
“Fluoride has been around for over 80 years, showing safety and efficacy in strengthening tooth enamel and preventing dental decay,” said Terry. “By removing it from the community water, it's going to be the loss of the 1st line of defense for many, many people, in protecting their teeth against decay.”
She also emphasized that fluoride is not a synthetic drug but a naturally occurring mineral already found in many dental products. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, water fluoridation reduces tooth decay by roughly 25% across communities that adopt it.
Not all lawmakers were on board with the effort to ban fluoride. Many Democrats stood in opposition. Sen. Tina Polsky (D-Boca Raton) was among them.
“I’m afraid that we're legislating on some of these tin foil theories as you described,” she told us last month. “The fluoride really bothers me.”
Nevertheless, DeSantis says the ban will be signed into law and take effect on July 1. Fluoride isn’t the only thing on the chopping block.
DeSantis also supported a bill banning weather modification and geo-engineering practices like cloud seeding, which uses substances like sodium iodide to artificially induce rain. While rarely used, proponents say the practice can help alleviate drought conditions. DeSantis said online "Florida is not a testing ground for geoengineering.” Critics argue that the legislation panders to conspiracy theories.
“I think, like more people feel compelled to say something now if they hadn’t been before.”
Animal lovers have ramped up their advocacy after being angered by an ABC Action News report about a Polk County shelter falling short of expectations.
