Tampa Bay stops adding fluoride to drinking water
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Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios
Before summer ends, nearly all added fluoride will disappear from Tampa Bay's drinking water, leaving only what occurs naturally.
Why it matters: Dentists warn that ending water fluoridation leaves children in poor and rural areas with fewer tools to fight tooth decay.
- Fluoride is a mineral that repairs and prevents damage to teeth that bacteria cause in the mouth, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Catch up quick: The state Legislature passed and Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill that, in part, introduces a statewide ban on adding fluoride to a public water supply.
- The law doesn't outright name fluoride, but it includes a narrow definition of a "water quality additive" as a chemical used to remove contaminants or improve water quality, and it bans all other additions.
Zoom in: The Tampa Bay Times tracked down when cities and counties in the region will stop adding fluoride to the water.
- Hillsborough County hasn't bought fluoride since March, per the Times, and its Lithia plant — one of four — has already shut off the supply to the public water system. Tampa's last fluoride shipment came in April.
- By July 1, Pinellas County will no longer fluoridate its drinking water. St. Petersburg says it will stop adding fluoride next week.
The big picture: State lawmakers are once again elbowing local leaders aside on hot-button issues, with cities and counties stripped of control over guns, immigration enforcement — and, now, fluoride.
- Hillsborough shot down a motion to remove fluoride from the county's drinking water in February. Pinellas tried dropping it in 2012, only to reverse the decision later.
- St. Pete Mayor Ken Welch says that while the city is "statutorily required" to make the change, he will explore ways to help "impacted residents maintain their dental health."
What they're saying: "Prevention is more important than anything else," Dr. Aura Cisneros, chief dental officer at Suncoast, told WUSF. "Once you need to treat the problem, it's already too late."
- "Without [fluoridation], it's like driving in a car without airbags. You still have a seat belt, but you don't have that airbag anymore," Dr. Jeff Ottley, president of the Florida Dental Association, said.