Tallahassee City Commissioners on Wednesday received a report from experts about why the city puts fluoride treatment in its water. It came as the state health department no longer recommends its use.
Commissioners took no action after hearing the report, meaning fluoride is here to stay for now in Tallahassee waters.
Some Florida governments have voted to remove fluoride from their water, including Winter Haven, Stuart and Naples.
Fluoride is a naturally occurring mineral that can improve oral health and reduce cavities. About 70% of cities around the country add it to their water.
In August 2024, the National Toxicology Program published a monograph finding that there was a linkage between fluoride in drinking water and lower IQs in children when there were more than 1.5 milligrams of fluoride per liter. That led to a federal court finding the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency should regulate fluoride.
President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for Health and Human Services Secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., has said that he plans to push for the removal of fluoride from drinking water nationwide. Last month, Florida Surgeon General Dr. Joseph Lapado said the health department is no longer recommending cities put it in their water.
Alissa Meyers, Tallahassee’s director of Environmental Services, said the city’s water is kept at 0.7 milligrams per liter.
“So, this recent federal court ruling and the surgeon general guidance has not changed the recommendations from the American Academy of Pediatrics or the American Dental Association, among others, to continue to optimally fluoridate the public water system. The decision whether to fluoridate the water system, it's a local policy issue. It's not mandated or prohibited by the state or federal government,” she said.
Joanne Hart, chief legislative officer for the Florida Dental Association, said the federal court ruling did not recommend that cities stop adding fluoride to the water.
“Unfortunately, recent news around fluoridation has led to a lot of misinformation being used as facts, such as, fluoride is lowering the IQ of children. I would say that since the city of Tallahassee has been fluoridating its water since 1987, I think we can all agree that this statement is false, because we have some intelligent people born right here and raised in Tallahassee who have been consuming the city's water,” she said.
The health department’s website includes a page where users can see all public water systems actively using fluoride.