With Florida Opposing Fluoridated Water, Why is There a Fluoride Controversy?

With Florida signaling its desire to fall in line with future health and human services secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.'s opposition to fluoridated water, why is there a controversy?

About 77% of the United States adds fluoride to its water—though its regulation falls to local governments—and over 70% of Florida residents receive fluoridated water to improve dental health. Florida is among five states that have removed fluoride from drinking water in certain areas due to health concerns.

"Due to the neuropsychiatric risk associated with fluoride exposure, particularly in pregnant women and children, and the wide availability of alternative sources of fluoride for dental health, the State Surgeon General recommends against community water fluoridation," state Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo's Friday afternoon press release read.

His fears are grounded in recent studies linking high exposure to fluoride, a mineral found in small concentrations in groundwater, to lower IQ in children. This association was only found with fluoride levels over 1.5 ppm, which is over double the maximum guideline of 0.7 ppm. Ladapo also worries about thyroid and skeletal issues from fluoride exposure, though results differ on whether or not fluoride ingestion can lead to that.

The removal of fluoride from water has been linked to marked increases in tooth decay procedures, a 2022 University of Calgary study found after Calgary and Juneau ended water fluoridation.

Grand Rapids, Michigan was the first city in the world to add fluoride to its drinking water in 1945 to combat severe tooth decay. President Truman three years later inadvertently expanded fluoridation use by establishing the National Institute of Dental Research. Within ten years, cavity rates were reduced by more than 60 percent in Grand Rapids, History.com reported.

Other countries soon followed suit, though most European nations either never took up the practice or stopped it altogether in the 1970s and 80s because of opposition to mandatory medications.

Despite this, Ireland, Singapore, and New Zealand all have mandatory water fluoridation laws in place, with Hong Kong, Singapore, and Brunei being the only nations where 100% of their residents have fluoridated water access, according to data from 2012, which is the most recent data available.

The debate over fluoride has existed since its 1940s implementation and has only just been re-rocketed to the surface of public conversation with the nomination of RFK, Jr. to the Department of Health and Human Services. RFK, 70, has been marked by his notable anti-vaccine beliefs, his suggestion that the government may have planned Covid, and his uncertainties surrounding 9/11.