Delray Beach’s stance on fluoride is a win for teeth and common sense | Opinion
I have to admit. I was surprised by this week’s fluoridation vote in Delray Beach.
In what has become a trend of late — local communities suddenly deciding to stop putting fluoride in their drinking water — Delray Beach became a bit of an outlier, seemingly favoring long-held science over healthcare skepticism.
The city commission decided to keep pumping fluoride into the city’s drinking water in a vote that came after a public hearing and a debate on the dais that included anguish and resolve. Give the commissioners credit. They didn’t ask staff for more information, or call for a charrette to get more community input. No stalling, no wussing out. They made a decision. The right one, even after Florida’s top doc tried to persuade them to do otherwise.
In the face of stiff opposition. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has made his feelings crystal clear. Last November in a social media post, he called fluoride “industrial waste” associated with arthritis, bone fractures, IQ loss and thyroid disease.
Editorial:Delray Beach voted to keep fluoride in its water. What do you think?
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It’s become a campaign here, as Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo has been on a roll ever since late last year, when he issued a health department warning that called on local communities across the state to take the fluoride out of their drinking water. He cited studies that connected the mineral with lower IQs in children and risks to pregnant women. Ormond Beach, Naples, Port St. Lucie and Stuart are some of the Florida municipalities that dropped fluoridation like a bad habit. And at last count, 40 of Florida’s 67 counties have followed suit.
With all the politics trumping public health, I figured Delray Beach would just go with the flow.
I was wrong.
Does Palm Beach Countytreat its drinking water with fluoride and will that change?
Fluoridation, science — or politics?
Using fluoride to fight tooth decay has been viewed as good science and a safe practice for generations. In study after study, with widespread government approval and support from the dental health community, fluoridated water was viewed the easiest and most effective way to boost dental health — especially among children. In recent months, however, that settled science has been challenged by a new breed of healthcare officials determined to end a mainstay of modern dental hygiene.
Delray Beach commissioners heard other arguments. Removing fluoride would have cost $200,000. If the commissioners were going to make a change, the timing at least would be good, because of needed improvements to the water treatment plant. But, it was the fear of health risks that dominated the discussion and Ladapo’s argument.
“God didn’t come down and tell us the answer, [but] it’s very strong evidence,” he said. “In my mind, when you see something like that, that’s reckless to continue recommending that and waiting for more evidence.”
For the five laymen on the dais, it was either Ladapo, whose stance on COVID-19 treatment has cast doubt on his medical reputation, or backing local dentists and residents who believe fluoride is still the best way to fight cavities.
“It’s not an easy decision to make,” Deputy Vice Mayor Rob Long acknowledged. “Both sides have made genuine arguments in regard to choice. That is a legitimate argument, but there’s also an argument to say that if we took fluoride out of the water, the folks who are the most underserved in the community would be the ones who suffer the most.”
Long, Vice Mayor Juli Casale and Commissioner Thomas Markert were the majority voting to keep fluoridation. Mayor Tom Carney and Commissioner Angela Burns voted to scrap it. Again, a tough call for men and women not steeped in the complexities of chemical processes or dental science. Still, given the circumstances, it was the correct choice.
Douglas C. Lyons is an editorial writer and columnist for The Palm Beach Post, part of the USA Today Network. He can be reached at dclyons@gannett.com.
Editor’s Note: There’s still time to give your feedback on this issue. Do you think Delray Beach made the right decision in keeping fluoride in its drinking water? Let us know by answering the following Post Opinion Page survey below. Please note: The required name, address and email are only used for verification of the survey’s participants. Select responses may be used in future Post articles, but identities will not be used for any solicitations by the Post or third parties.
