A bill to ban the use of the mineral in public water passed the Florida House 88-27. It now awaits Gov. Ron DeSantis’ signature.

Lawmakers in Florida gave final passage to a bill to ban fluoride in public water systems Tuesday, with the state House voting 88-27.

SB 700, also known as the Florida Farm Bill, doesn’t mention the word “fluoride,” but it would effectively ban the chemical compound by preventing “the use of certain additives in a water system.” The bill awaits Gov. Ron DeSantis’ signature.

If DeSantis, a Republican, signs the bill, Florida will become the second state to ban fluoride from water supplies.

  • then_three_more@lemmy.world
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    6 days ago

    Yanks love to stereotype Brits as having bad teeth when statically your teeth have more cavities and removals (our dentistry focuses on health over cosmetics). Hopefully shit like this can fully kill that off that stereotype.

    • evasive_chimpanzee@lemmy.world
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      5 days ago

      The UK largely doesn’t fluoridate, so this is one of the (few) areas where the US actually does better than the UK. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_fluoridation_by_country

      The UK does generally have better tooth health in the grand scheme of things, but it’s actually pretty close, and the US is still really high on the list.

      https://www.yongeeglintondental.com/blog/healthy-primary-teeth/

      Without checking, I suspect the US’s slightly higher cavity rate is more down to sugar consumption than received dental care.

      • Underbroen@feddit.dk
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        4 days ago

        Did you read the rest of the Wikipedia article? How is better to add fluoride in the amounts the US does? It says in the Wikipedia article:

        Recent studies suggest that water fluoridation, particularly in industrialized countries, may be unnecessary because topical fluorides (such as in toothpaste) are widely used and cavity rates have become low. For this reason, some scientists consider fluoridation to be unethical due to the lack of informed consent. However, a recent study funded by NHS found no significant difference between individuals who receive fluoridated water and those who don’t in terms of missing teeth and reducing social inequities.

        Also, new research highlights that high levels of fluoride is problematic for pregnant women (it affect cognitive abilities of the unborn child).

        • evasive_chimpanzee@lemmy.world
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          5 hours ago

          I found this good review article based on a study commissioned by the Canadian government.

          https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10408444.2023.2295338

          It seems like potential IQ effects are still difficult to distinguish as a dose response, so they weren’t able to come up with a point of departure. It doesn’t help that in a lot of studies comparing “high” and “low” fluoridation effects on IQ, the “low” is still higher than the WHO recommended level of 1.5 mg/L, and the US recommended level of 0.75.

          I think the optimal level is likely going to vary by municipality based on the quality of dental care and the use of fluoridated toothpaste (that everyone overuses), and consumption of high fluoride beverages like tea. I guess my main takeaway is that people need to read their local water quality report, and do what they will with that information

      • Ledericas@lemm.ee
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        5 days ago

        and also dental care isnt usually covered by most insurance so people try to ignore the problem til its too late.

          • andros_rex@lemmy.world
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            4 days ago

            Vision insurance is also completely useless.

            “Whoops, your prescription is too strong. We only cover glasses for the mildly blind.”

            I stopped signing up for vision insurance when it was cheaper to do some “two for one frames” deal without insurance.

        • turtlesareneat@discuss.online
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          5 days ago

          The majority of people I know with dental issues couldn’t afford to have minor things fixed so they turned into major things.

          Dental insurance is a joke and lots of people don’t even get that joke.

          • Ledericas@lemm.ee
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            5 days ago

            i had to wait 10years befor going to the dentist, because it was mostly unaffordable, one of my bros went to a dentist who dint take insurance but they charged hundreds per (whatever they were doing for the teeth), ultimately resulting in an abscess /root canal and then a very expensive implant.

            the dentist reasoning is because insurance dont fully reimburse for the cost of the procedures, plus its a hassle to deal with in general.

    • Ledericas@lemm.ee
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      5 days ago

      what ive found out when i was looking for toothpaste is how many people are obsessed with whitening thier teeth, that alot of toothpaste have it. whitening toothpaste actually damages the teeth overtime, either via through peroxides, or high abrasive toothpastes. Also if your going sls and flouride free, they also tend to have alot of whitening products in them too. and these also cause ulcers and chelitis issues.