fluoride

Many children in Florida lack access to routine dental care. According to data from the Florida Department of Health, nearly 1 in 3 third graders in the Sunshine State had cavities during the 2021–2022 school year.

Access is especially tough for kids in rural areas or whose families don't have a lot of money. Some dentists say a new statewide ban on adding fluoride to drinking water affects these communities the most.

Local governments will be banned from putting fluoride in their water supplies starting July 1 under a measure signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis on Thursday.

The agency is taking steps to remove prescription fluoride products that children swallow. But researchers who study fluoride say it's not harmful and some kids need the treatments.

With Florida set to ban fluoride in public drinking water, health officials in Utah — the first state to impose a similar prohibition — say Floridians without fluoridated water will suffer the most.

Florida's regular legislative session was scheduled to finish on May 2. But lawmakers extended it to finish the budget and address certain proposals. Your Florida talked with people across the state about how they think the first 60 days went.

The Florida Legislature approved the bill last week. When it becomes law, local governments are prohibited from adding fluoride to municipal water supplies — ending a decades-old practice.

Florida is poised to become the second state to ban fluoride in public drinking water, over the concerns of dentists and public health advocates who say the mineral is a safe, effective way to protect people of all ages from developing cavities.

The Florida House on Tuesday gave final approval to a bill that would prevent local governments from adding fluoride to water supplies and take aim at labeling of plant-based products as milk, meat and eggs.

The proposed ban, included in a broad bill dealing with the Agriculture Department, comes after decades of communities adding fluoride to water to help prevent dental problems.