Seminole County votes to remove fluoride from water amid growing opposition

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Published  April 8, 2025 11:33pm EDT
FOX 35 Orlando
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The Brief

    • Seminole County commissioners voted 4-1 to remove fluoride from the water, ending a 35-year practice.
    • The decision aligns with growing opposition to water fluoridation across Florida, despite public health support for its benefits.
    • This move follows the introduction of state legislation that could ban local fluoridation policies.

ORLANDO, Fla. - Seminole County commissioners voted 4-1 to remove fluoride from the water, ending a 35-year practice.

'Are cavities the new culture war? Is the water too woke?'

What we know:

Seminole County commissioners voted 4-1 on Tuesday to remove fluoride from the county's public water supply, ending a decades-long public health measure first enacted in 1988. The decision follows a recent surge in anti-fluoride sentiment spreading across parts of Central Florida and coincides with similar moves by other local governments in cities such as Port St. Lucie, Naples, and Niceville.

The vote comes at a time when state lawmakers are advancing broader legislation that could prohibit local governments from fluoridating water altogether. Senate Bill 700, now headed for a full Senate vote, would reclassify fluoride under a new definition of "water quality additive" and effectively ban its use.

What we don't know:

Despite the vote, it's unclear how soon fluoride will actually be removed from Seminole County's water, or what alternative public health measures might be put in place — if any — to address dental health, particularly among low-income families who rely on community-wide fluoride protection.

Also unknown is how the pending state legislation, if passed, would impact other counties still fluoridating water. The implications for existing public health programs remain murky, and legal challenges could arise depending on how the law is implemented.

The backstory:

Seminole County has fluoridated its water for more than 35 years, beginning in 1988. The topic was previously revisited in 2008, when commissioners voted to keep fluoride. The renewed debate this year has been fueled by mounting skepticism towards fluoride, with commissioners reporting they've received hundreds of emails on both sides of the issue.

This current push to remove fluoride also appears to align with a broader political shift toward "medical freedom" narratives — especially as the Florida Surgeon General and certain lawmakers question longstanding public health norms.

Big picture view:

The Seminole County decision reflects a growing national and statewide conversation where public health policy is increasingly entangled in political ideology. As questions over government authority, bodily autonomy, and "overreach" intensify, measures like water fluoridation — which were once widely accepted — are now facing new scrutiny.

Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo has publicly advised local governments to halt water fluoridation, calling it "public health malpractice," a stark contrast to national medical consensus. The American Dental Association responded swiftly, saying Ladapo is "misinformed," and warning that the move could reverse decades of dental health gains.

Jackson Oberlink, from Florida For All, criticized the push to eliminate fluoride as being politically charged rather than science-based.

"Are cavities the new culture war? Is the water too woke?" he asked, emphasizing that fluoridation is one of the nation’s most successful public health initiatives.

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The Source: This story was written based on information shared by the Seminole County Commission, and the News Service of Florida. 

Seminole CountyPoliticsHealth