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The Lakeland City Commission voted 6-0 Monday to immediately stop adding fluoride to the city’s drinking water.
Each commissioner gave his or her reasoning to remove it, with some acknowledging its benefits in preventing cavities.
But they added that they didn’t want to add fluoricilicic acid, a man-made chemical, to the city’s drinking water because some studies show it might cause neurological issues and lower IQ.
Mayor Bill Mutz said the choice to add fluoride should be left to each household and the only means to do that is removing it from the water supply.
“And I say that with great respect for the dental community and great respect for the studies,” Mutz added.
Commissioner Chad McLeod said he liked having fluoride in the water because he has “a six-year-old who isn’t great about brushing,” but he should not make that decision for other families.
Commissioner Stephanie Madden said it comes down to a public entity prescribing medicine and that Lakeland should not be adding things to the water beyond chemicals that purify it.
Commissioner Sara Roberts McCarley was torn, saying the lower-income populations, who would be most affected by this, don’t have the medical support in the community to combat the health issues that will result in fluoride removal.
But she wants the public to be able to choose for themselves to add fluoride to their own water or hygiene routine.
Mayor Pro Tem Mike Musick said he grew up drinking Lakeland’s fluoridated water, as did his three children and they have not had cavity issues. But his constituents have pleaded with him to remove the fluoride.
Musick said fluoride can be obtained in toothpaste and mouthwash, but added that if the Commission later finds out that there’s not a toxicity issue and that cavities have increased, “we have to also take a responsibility.”
Commissioner Guy LaLonde Jr. said he finds adding fluoride to the public water supply is unnecessary. And overexposure is a real risk.
Commissioner Bill Read did not attend the meeting, as he has been struggling with a health issue. He has said in the past he wanted the city to stop adding fluoride to its water.
Against removal: Before the vote, several medical professionals spoke at the meeting in favor of keeping it, saying cavities are the most preventable childhood disease and adding a small amount of fluoride to water helps to prevent cavities and the pain that can come along with them.
They cautioned against believing the inflammatory statements of Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo, calling the science he cites incorrect information.
Ryan Johnson, a lifelong Lakeland resident and registered nurse who works in an intensive care unit, said an analysis of fluoride as a neurotoxin that Ladapo cites comes from an area of China with naturally occurring fluoride in an amount that far exceeds the recommendations from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the World Health Organization and the U.S. National Institutes of Health.
Lakeland water: Lakeland spokesman Kevin Cook said the city began adding fluoride to the drinking water in 1981, with the City Commission approving the measure in a roll-call vote.
Lakeland was adding fluoride at a level of 0.7 milligrams per liter, which is the amount recommended by the U.S. Public Health Service.
The World Health Organization has set a “safe limit” for fluoride in drinking water of no more than 1.5 milligrams per liter.
For removal: Lakeland resident Lacy Lain, who brought her two children to the meeting, spoke tearfully about wanting to protect her family. Her daughter Sparrow also spoke.
“We want to get the fluoride out of the water because the fluoride has a toxin in it,” Sparrow said softly.
“As someone who has a child that already has a neurological disorder, it’s really important to me,” said Lacy, adding that she works in the health care industry. “We filter our water, we pay lots of money out of pocket to filter our water so we don’t add that neurotoxin into her diet.”
Programs in schools: Polk County Public Schools, the Florida Department of Health’s Polk County Office, along with Central Florida Healthcare, currently have a sealant program in 85 schools. Sealing teeth helps to prevent cavities.
Students must have written parent or guardian permission.
Watch the full fluoride discussion from Monday’s City Commission meeting:
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Sara Roberts McCarley says it’ll hurt poor kids, but gosh, non-poor kids will be fine.
Lakeland only cares about people with money. Clearly. Poor people can’t afford to buy fluoride.
But poor people typically don’t vote so why should they represent them too…right? /sarcasm
Fluoride tablets are cheap. See Good Rx.