Melbourne Mayor Paul Alfrey plans to propose at Tuesday’s City Council meeting that the city stop adding fluoride to its drinking water.
His proposal follows a unanimous vote last week by the Palm Bay City Council to abandon efforts to repair that city’s water fluoridation equipment, which has been off-line since 2016 at one of its water-treatment plants and since 2017 at the other plant.
Supporters of adding fluoride to water say drinking fluoridated water helps keep teeth strong and reduces cavities. Detractors say it should be up to individual families whether they want to ingest water that has added fluoride.
As a regional supplier, Melbourne provides drinking water not only for its own residents, but also for Indialantic, Indian Harbour Beach, Melbourne Beach, Melbourne Village, Palm Shores, Satellite Beach, West Melbourne and unincorporated areas of Brevard County south of the Pineda Causeway.
In all, Melbourne supplies water to an estimated 168,000 people in those communities, according to Cheryl Mall, Melbourne’s public information officer.
Mall said, if Alfrey or another member of the City Council makes a motion of stop adding fluoride to Melbourne water, it can be approved Tuesday with a single majority vote of the council.
Melbourne has added fluoride to its water since 1966, Mall said.
Close vote on fluoridation in 2019
Pros and cons of fluoridation:How do I know if my city water has fluoride in Florida? Cities that do, don’t fluoridate
An effort that Alfrey — then a District 5 City Council member — helped push to stop adding fluoride to Melbourne water failed in November 2019 by a 4-3 vote.
But Alfrey notes that all four supporters of fluoride have since left the City Council. So he is optimistic of success this time around in ending the practice of the city adding fluoride to its water supply.
Community water fluoridation is the process of adjusting the amount of fluoride in drinking water to a level recommended for preventing cavities. Fluoride naturally occurs in water, but not at the levels recommend for preventing tooth decay.
Alfrey’s move to reject fluoridation of city-supplied drinking water is in line with a recommendation from Florida Surgeon General Dr. Joseph Ladapo, who heads the Florida Department of Health.
In November, Ladapo announced guidance recommending against community water fluoridation, saying there was a potential neuropsychiatric risk associated with fluoride exposure.
American Dental Association, CDC views on fluoride
In response, the American Dental Association said it “strongly opposes” the comments made by Ladapo about community water fluoridation.
“It’s disheartening to hear Dr. Ladapo’s misinformed and dangerous comments regarding community water fluoridation,” American Dental Association President Dr. Brett Kessler said. “The ADA believes in the use of proven, evidence-based science when making public policy decisions. For Dr. Ladapo to call community water fluoridation ‘medical malpractice’ and call on all municipalities to end its practice is a dangerous statement that stands to harm the oral and overall health of all Floridians. Eliminating a proven public health strategy to reduce dental disease in a state that has access-to-care issues is very short-sighted.”
The ADA said that, while some recent studies have shown that sustained exposure to high levels of fluoride above 1.5 parts per million could negatively impact health, that amount is more than twice the 0.7 parts per million recommended for community water fluoridation.
“In a time during widespread misinformation and biased interpretation of research, the ADA remains committed to optimally fluoridating water at levels that are proven to be safe for the public,” Kessler said.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also supports community fluoridation.
“Community water fluoridation is a cornerstone strategy for prevention of cavities in the U.S.,” the CDC says in a statement on the topic. “It is a practical, cost-effective and equitable way for communities to improve their residents’ oral health, regardless of age, education or income.”
The CDC named fluoridation of drinking water one of 10 great public health interventions of the 20th century because of the dramatic decline in cavities since community water fluoridation started in 1945.
Florida surgeon general’s cautions about fluoride
In a Facebook post, Alfrey commended Ladapo and the Palm Bay City Council for their leadership on the issue of pushing for a halt to adding fluoride to community water supplies.
Ladapo contends that “it is clear more research is necessary to address safety and efficacy concerns regarding community water fluoridation. The previously considered benefit of community water fluoridation does not outweigh the current known risks, especially for special populations like pregnant women and children.”
Ladapo noted that “fluoride is widely available from multiple sources, including topical fluorides, such as toothpaste, mouthwashes and fluoride applications by dental providers. Evidence shows fluoride strengthens teeth, making them more decay-resistant. However, additional research is being conducted to review the impacts of overall fluoride exposure in the population. Floridians should be aware of safety concerns related to systemic fluoride exposure.”
Since Ladapo’s statement on fluoride, several other Florida cities have stopped adding fluoride to their drinking water, including Port St. Lucie, Stuart and Tavares. In contrast, the Leesburg City Commission in December voted 3-2 to proceed with previously approved plans to begin adding fluoride to its drinking water, starting next summer.
In 2021, at the request of then-Brevard County Commissioner Rita Pritchett, who represented north Brevard, the County Commission voted to stop adding fluorideto the water the county supplies to Mims.
Based on 2023 data, Ladapo estimates that more than 70% of Floridians on community water systems receive fluoridated water.
Original article online at: https://www.floridatoday.com/story/news/local/2025/01/09/melbourne-mayor-pushes-halt-to-fluoridation-of-citys-drinking-water/77506932007/