Gov. Ron DeSantis signs bill banning fluoride additives in Florida drinking water

Yahoo

07-05-2025

BAY COUNTY, Fla. (WMBB) – Since the 1950's cities and counties all over the US have been adding fluoride to their drinking water supplies to promote dental health.
In Bay County, that process will soon end.
Water department officials say they will use the supply of fluoride that's still on hand, then discontinue the process.
The move will save the county a small amount of money.
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'So, we spend around $100,000 a year on the actual chemical that we had. So, we know we're going to save that money right off the bat. As soon as we stop feeding it, we hope to stop purchasing it. So that's how we got that number,' Water Division Superintendent Sean Lathrop said.
Fluoride is in toothpaste and used by dentists for teeth cleanings.
About 75% of the nation's water systems add naturally occurring minerals, like fluoride, to strengthen teeth and prevent cavities.
Lathrop says the removal of fluoride will not affect the water quality.
'It's not going to change the water quality at all. We're still going to strive to give the best quality water that we can, and that's what we're going to continue to do,' Lathrop said.
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Officials say all they have to do is flip a switch to stop adding fluoride to the water tanks.
For now, they're letting the existing supply run its course.
'We have a big tank and pumps that feed it into our system and inject it into the system. And we'll just basically once it's empty, we just turn it off,' Lathrop added.
Once that's gone, it will take 30 days for the fluoride to work its way out of the system.
Lathrop says the transition will not affect the price of water bills.
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