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Politics|Florida Just Banned Fluoride From Public Water. Here's What
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florida-fluoride-water-ban.html

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Florida Just Banned Fluoride From Public Water. Here's What to Know.

Medical experts have warned that ending fluoridation will have
negative consequences for oral health.

Mr. DeSantis stands in front of a microphone speaking while hilding
his right arm out.
Gov. DeSantis signed a bill into law that bans the addition of
fluoride to public water supplies.Credit...Ruth Fremson/The New York
Times
Emily Cochrane

By Emily Cochrane

May 15, 2025, 2:00 p.m. ET
Listen to this article * 5:00 min Learn more

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Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida signed a bill into law on Thursday that
bans the addition of fluoride to public water supplies, making
Florida the second state to prohibit the widespread public health
practice.

Studies show a clear correlation between fluoridated drinking water
and improved oral health, including fewer dental cavities. Fluoride
was added to a city's water supply for the first time in 1945, and
the practice spread around the country in the following decades.

But Mr. DeSantis and other prominent Republicans have criticized
fluoridation as an example of government overreach, drawing parallels
to masking and vaccine mandates during the coronavirus pandemic.

How It Fits Into the National Landscape

The law puts Mr. DeSantis and the Republicans who dominate the
Florida Legislature at the front of a growing national movement.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., President Trump's health secretary, recently
called for all states to ban fluoride in drinking water. In March,
Utah became the first state to outlaw the practice.

A handful of other states, including Ohio and Texas, and a number of
local governments are weighing fluoride bans.

In 2022, the most recent year for which C.D.C. data is available,
about 63 percent of Americans lived in areas with fluoridated
drinking water.

The Argument In Favor of a Ban

Fluoride is naturally present in many foods, and experts say that
excessive exposure to fluoride over a long period can lead to health
problems. Federal safety guidelines for how much fluoride to add to
water supplies have been lowered in recent years to reduce any risk,
including after a recent court order.

With trust in public health eroding from the coronavirus pandemic, a
movement to eliminate fluoride from drinking water has gained
significant steam.

Opponents of fluoridation have cast their concerns as a matter of
protecting bodily autonomy, and have cited the possibility of
cognitive effects on children and infants from excessive exposure.
Powerful people like Mr. Kennedy and other top Republicans have
publicly questioned fluoridation's safety.

Image
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the secretary of health and human services,
recently called for all states to ban fluoride in drinking water.
Credit...Haiyun Jiang for The New York Times

"It's forced medication, when they're jamming fluoride into your
water supply," Mr. DeSantis said at a news conference last week,
standing behind a placard that hailed "the free state of Florida."
Referring to the oral health benefits of fluoride, he said, "I'm not
saying that's not true, but we have other ways where people can get
access to fluoride."

"We should all agree that we want people to have informed consent
when it comes to these things," he added.

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