ORLANDO, Fla. — Over the past week, five Central Florida municipalities have voted to remove fluoride from their water treatment systems and one group has been going to each meeting, advocating for that change.

The group We are Change Orlando, which says on its Facebook page that its mission is to "expose the lies of governments and the corporate elite who constantly trash our humanity," is pushing to de-fluoridate Florida altogether.

What You Need To Know

  • In November 2024, Florida Surgeon General Dr. Joseph Ladapo provided recommendations on the use of fluoride in water by discouraging it

  • Since then, 18 municipalities across Florida have voted to remove fluoride from their water treatment systems, including five in the last week

  • We are Change Orlando has sent members to multiple meetings in hopes of removing fluoride from public water

  • Proponents of fluoride in water, like the American Dental Association, have called out Dr. Ladapo's recommendations and feel the health benefits outweigh the drawbacks

Members of the organization feel that fluoride is a danger, while others believe the health benefits outweigh any drawbacks.

The discussions surrounding fluoride have intensified since Florida Surgeon General Dr. Joseph Ladapo raised concerns about the practice on Nov. 8.

That led to 18 municipalities across the state voting to stop the fluoridation of their water.

“See, we’re always taught that it’s safe and effective. But I think when most people find out that there are 50 studies just about lowering IQ in children, and then hundreds more with arthritis, bone brittleness, cancer,” said Justin Harvey, with We are Change Orlando. “You find out that 95% of the world doesn’t even add fluoride to their water.”

Harvey is a member of We are Change Orlando and said he has been to too many meetings to count since November.

He said he stopped drinking tap water more than a decade ago after doing his own research. Now, he wants to help others do the same.

“I started filtering my water with a fluoride filter, and these are expensive infiltration systems that people can’t necessarily afford and I’m tired, personally, of spending money on them,” Harvey said. “Like carrying around this water bottle that’s all beat up into restaurants and avoiding public park water fountains, and it really shouldn’t be that way.”

However, others feel the fluoridation of water is necessary.

At Oviedo’s city commission meeting on Monday, resident David Williamson said he feels removing fluoride would cause more harm to people’s health.

“If you vote to remove fluoride from water, children in this community will have more trips to the dentist, higher cost of health care and more long-term dental health problems,” Williamson said. “Notably, though, our kids won’t be any smarter.”

The American Dental Association has called Ladapo’s recommendation “misinformed and dangerous.” It said his statements could harm the oral and overall health of Floridians.

“Community water fluoridation is the most cost-effective preventive measure we have to tooth decay and there’s no evidence that when it is properly administered that there are any negative side effects,” Williamson said.

A pair of bills filed for next week’s legislative session, House Bill 651 and Senate Bill 700, look to prohibit certain additives in water.

While the bills have not been discussed nor passed, they have already caused cities to remove fluoride from their water or to delay making a decision.