Florida simply grew to become the second U.S. state, after Utah, to ban fluoride in public consuming water. Governor Ron DeSantis signed the invoice into legislation, ending a decades-old public well being coverage that after promised to guard tooth however now faces mounting criticism for threatening neurological and endocrine well being. Roughly 63% of People at present drink fluoridated water, which means tens of millions may quickly be reevaluating how secure their water actually is — and what’s actually in it.1
Fluoride was added to municipal water methods beginning in 1945, primarily based on the concept ingesting small quantities may cut back cavities. However knowledge now reveals the dangers outweigh the advantages, notably for infants and youngsters. Extra fluoride has been linked to thyroid suppression, decrease IQ and neurodevelopmental problems — points that go far past cavities.
International locations throughout Europe have already moved away from fluoridation. The U.S. is lagging behind, clinging to outdated protocols whereas proof mounts that obligatory publicity does extra hurt than good. As this motion grows, it is necessary to grasp what’s driving these bans and the way the science helps them.
Florida’s Fluoride Ban Attracts Nationwide Consideration
As The New York Occasions reported, on Could 15, 2025, DeSantis signed laws that bans the addition of fluoride to public water methods all through the state of Florida.2 DeSantis referred to fluoridation as “compelled treatment,” arguing that the general public deserves the best to knowledgeable consent on the subject of what’s added to their consuming water. This coverage change echoes broader public resistance to public well being mandates following COVID-era controversies.
The invoice DeSantis signed on Could 15, 2025 (SB 700, a part of the “Florida Farm Invoice”) takes authorized impact on July 1, 2025. That’s the date when public water methods statewide should cease including fluoride, and state regulators can start issuing compliance orders and penalties.
• The legislation was launched amid rising skepticism of government-run well being interventions — This ban is a part of a broader nationwide motion fueled by leaders like Robert F. Kennedy Jr., U.S. secretary of well being and human providers, and Lee Zeldin, who leads the U.S. Environmental Safety Company.
Kennedy has publicly referred to as for all U.S. states to get rid of fluoride from consuming water. DeSantis’ place displays this new wave of political well being independence, the place bodily autonomy has change into a rallying cry in issues of public coverage.
• There are safer, individualized alternate options — In line with DeSantis, the difficulty is not about whether or not fluoride helps tooth. It is about eradicating obligatory publicity by means of municipal water. This line of reasoning appeals to oldsters, caregivers and people who need extra management over how and when fluoride enters their or their youngsters’s our bodies.
• Extra states are contemplating related bans, and federal coverage may change — Ohio and Texas are actually weighing their very own anti-fluoride laws.
In the meantime, Zeldin introduced that the EPA is reevaluating its fluoride suggestions, and Kennedy deliberate to inform the U.S. Facilities for Illness Management and Prevention to cease endorsing neighborhood water fluoridation altogether. These bulletins counsel that what started as a state-level transfer may quickly reshape federal coverage.
My Open Letter to the American Dental Affiliation (ADA)
In an open letter, I urged the ADA to discontinue supporting water fluoridation, primarily based on analysis linking fluoride publicity to diminished IQ scores, attention-deficit hyperactivity dysfunction (ADHD) signs and thyroid dysfunction. I argued that rising analysis now not justifies this observe continued endorsement displays outdated science, not greatest practices.
• Compelling proof hyperlinks fluoride to neurological and hormonal harm — A number of fashionable research, lots of them high-quality human trials, present clear hyperlinks between fluoride publicity and diminished intelligence in youngsters. A scientific evaluate in JAMA Pediatrics discovered that fluoride negatively impacts youngsters’s IQ, for example.3
• Fluoride has damaging results on thyroid operate — Fluoride was as soon as used medically within the Fifties in each Europe and South America to decrease thyroid hormone ranges in individuals with overactive thyroid, or hyperthyroidism.
That utilization relied on a every day fluoride dose as little as 2 to five milligrams (mg) — ranges many individuals already devour at present in the event that they reside in fluoridated areas.4 Even modest consumption, over time, interferes with thyroid hormones that regulate metabolism, power and temper.
• International locations around the globe have already rejected water fluoridation — About 98% of individuals residing in Western Europe now drink non-fluoridated water. Nations together with Germany, France, the Netherlands and Sweden have utterly banned the observe. As a substitute, they depend on training, dietary enhancements and fluoride-free oral hygiene merchandise to assist dental well being with out risking neurological hurt.
Largest Evaluate but Confirms Fluoride Lowers IQ in Kids
Revealed by the Nationwide Toxicology Program (NTP) in August 2024, an intensive evaluate assessed 72 research that investigated the hyperlink between fluoride publicity and youngsters’s intelligence ranges. It additionally included animal and mechanistic research to raised perceive how fluoride impairs cognition. The evaluate discovered constant proof of hurt, notably in youngsters uncovered to larger ranges of fluoride by means of consuming water or different environmental sources.5
• Researchers discovered sturdy proof of decrease IQ scores in fluoride-exposed youngsters — Eighteen of the 19 highest-quality research confirmed that youngsters uncovered to elevated fluoride ranges scored decrease on IQ checks.
These outcomes held throughout totally different nations, cultures and forms of examine design, which provides weight to their validity. The evaluate particularly highlighted three potential cohort research, which additionally discovered vital damaging results on youngsters’s cognitive improvement.
• The upper the fluoride, the more serious the cognitive outcomes — The researchers discovered a transparent sample: as fluoride publicity elevated, IQ scores decreased. Kids residing in areas with consuming water fluoride concentrations above 1.5 mg/L — the World Well being Group’s most secure degree — have been persistently extra prone to present decrease mental efficiency.
• IQ dangers apply even within the U.S. as a consequence of complete fluoride publicity, not simply water ranges — The evaluate emphasised that youngsters within the U.S. typically exceed “secure” fluoride ranges even when their water provide meets federal tips. That is as a result of fluoride would not simply come from consuming water. It is also present in toothpaste, processed meals, tea and different sources.
Whereas a lot of the strongest proof comes from high-exposure areas, the cumulative consumption from a number of sources implies that U.S. youngsters, particularly these in areas with pure fluoride over 1.5 mg/L, will not be exempt from danger.
Easy Steps to Scale back Your Fluoride Publicity and Shield Your Mind
You need not wait on your state to move a legislation to start out defending your self and your loved ones from fluoride. For those who’re involved about how this chemical impacts mind improvement, thyroid well being or long-term cognitive efficiency, because the proof clearly reveals, you may have actual, sensible choices.
Whether or not you reside in a completely fluoridated space or simply wish to get rid of pointless publicity, here is methods to take management of what you and your youngsters drink day by day. These 5 steps will assist you to decrease fluoride in your water, meals and dental merchandise, whereas additionally supporting higher total well being:
1. Swap to a fluoride-filtering water system at residence — Fluoride isn’t simple to filter out. Widespread filters like Brita or PUR gained’t do the job. Additionally, whereas reverse osmosis has been the usual for eradicating fluoride for years, it has vital drawbacks, comparable to losing water and eradicating wholesome minerals from the water.
Equally, bone char know-how requires the water to be acidic to work correctly. So, remember to set up a high-quality filtration system designed to take away fluoride. For those who can, contemplate a whole-house filtration system to catch fluoride at each level of use, together with your kitchen sink, bathtub and bathe.
2. Use fluoride-free toothpaste and dental merchandise — Most mainstream toothpastes are loaded with fluoride. You are not simply brushing your tooth with it, you are additionally absorbing it by means of your gums and swallowing hint quantities. That provides up over time. Search for fluoride-free toothpaste and skip the fluoride mouthwashes and gels altogether. The cavity safety you are searching for comes from mechanical brushing, not chemical publicity.
3. Put together toddler method with filtered water — For those who’re method feeding your child, this one’s necessary. Faucet water in fluoridated areas typically accommodates ranges excessive sufficient to have an effect on a new child’s mind improvement.
Use solely fluoride-free, filtered water, particularly throughout these early developmental months. Breastfeeding remains to be the best choice at any time when attainable, as breastmilk accommodates nearly no fluoride and helps more healthy intestine and immune system improvement.
4. Look ahead to hidden sources in your meals and drinks — You won’t understand that fluoride can be present in on a regular basis gadgets like black and inexperienced tea, processed rooster and canned soup. Tea leaves naturally take up fluoride from the soil, and mechanical processing of poultry typically leaves residues on the meat.
5. Keep knowledgeable and rethink the fluoride dialog — Most individuals have been taught that fluoride is important for wholesome tooth, however the reality is, fashionable analysis is evident: swallowing fluoride exposes you to dangers with no profit. Use this as a possibility to take again management. The extra knowledgeable you’re, the higher decisions you can also make on your well being and your loved ones’s future.
FAQs About Fluoride in Ingesting Water
Q: Why did Florida ban fluoride in public water?
A: DeSantis signed a legislation banning fluoride in municipal water, calling it “compelled treatment” and emphasizing the best to knowledgeable consent. The choice aligns with a rising motion throughout the U.S. questioning the protection and necessity of water fluoridation, particularly as research now hyperlink it to neurological and thyroid hurt.
Q: Is there scientific proof that fluoride lowers IQ?
A: Sure. A 2024 report by the Nationwide Toxicology Program reviewed 72 research and located that 18 of the 19 highest-quality research confirmed fluoride publicity was persistently related to decrease IQ scores in youngsters. The impact was seen even at ranges near or under what many People devour in fluoridated areas.
Q: Does fluoride have an effect on thyroid operate?
A: It does. Traditionally, fluoride was used therapeutically in Europe and South America to suppress thyroid exercise in individuals with overactive thyroid situations. Trendy analysis confirms that every day consumption of two to five mg, properly inside what many individuals devour, interferes with thyroid hormones concerned in metabolism, power and temper.
Q: What are safer methods to keep up good oral well being with out fluoride?
A: Brushing repeatedly with fluoride-free toothpaste, consuming a nutrient-dense weight loss plan and staying hydrated with filtered, fluoride-free water are efficient methods to assist oral well being with out the dangers tied to systemic fluoride publicity. Common visits to a organic dentist are additionally necessary.
Q: How do I cut back my household’s fluoride publicity?
A: Begin by putting in a water filtration system designed to take away fluoride. Use fluoride-free toothpaste and keep away from utilizing unfiltered faucet water when getting ready toddler method. Bear in mind that black and inexperienced teas, in addition to some processed meals, additionally comprise fluoride.
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