Will hold public meetings on the subject next week
As national and state-level conversations continue to grow around water additives, Toho Water Authority is inviting customers to engage in community discussions about the use of supplemental fluoride in their water supply.
Toho has scheduled four public meetings starting next week, aimed at gathering community input and providing factual, unbiased information about fluoride’s benefits, concerns and current practices.
The one-hour meetings will be held:
Monday, April 7, 5:30 p.m., Buenaventura Library;
Friday, April 11, 4:30 p.m., Poinciana Library;
Sunday, April 13, 12:30 p.m., St. Cloud Veterans Memorial Library;
Thursday, April 17, 6:30 p.m., Kissimmee Hart Memorial Library.
Additionally, Toho is opening a public comment period on April 1, during which residents can submit their thoughts via email to fluoride@tohowater.com. Residents are required to provide their name, home address and Toho account number for verification.
According to Toho, its water supply contains naturally occurring fluoride at approximately 0.35 milligrams per liter. The utility supplements this amount to reach a level of 0.7 mg/L, aligning with guidance from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Toho Public Relations Director Caitlin Dineen said fluoride has been added to water in Kissimmee since 1981, St. Cloud since 1986 and Poinciana since it merged with Toho after 2010. Details on cost for the supplementing were not immediately available.
Toho’s decision to host public meetings comes in response to recommendations from the Florida Surgeon General against community water fluoridation. Dineen said that to her knowledge, only one citizen has brought up the topic at a Toho Board of Supervisors meeting.
“This isn’t prompted specifically by resident outcry or demand,” said Dineen. “It’s just sort of about doing what’s right and having Toho engage with the community on a topic that deeply affects them.”
On Nov. 22, 2024, Florida’s State Surgeon General, Dr. Joseph A. Ladapo, issued a recommendation against community water fluoridation, citing concerns about potential neuropsychiatric risks associated with fluoride exposure. His recommendation referenced studies suggesting correlations between prenatal fluoride exposure and reduced IQ, ADHD and other neurobehavioral issues in children. However, these findings have been heavily debated within the scientific community.
Dineen said Toho engaged Carollo Engineers – a water engineering consulting firm headquartered in California with an Orlando office – to gather all the “latest and greatest” scientific research on the topic of water fluoridation. This “unbiased” information will be shared with residents at the community meetings, she said.
Dineen stressed that Toho “does not have a stance” on fluoridation. She said all the feedback gathered from citizens, along with the research provided by Carollo, will be provided to the Toho Board of Supervisors for their consideration. The board is tentatively expected to then vote on the matter in August.
Collier and St. Lucie counties and the cities of Winter Haven and Melbourne are among those that have discontinued the addition of fluoride in residential water systems. The Florida Department of Health estimates 70% of the state’s water systems add fluoride; a self-reporting list can be found online.
The practice of adding fluoride to public water systems is endorsed by many health organizations, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), American Dental Association and World Health Organization. The primary benefit of water fluoridation is the prevention of tooth decay, especially in children and underserved populations that may not have regular access to even basic oral care.
The CDC maintains that community water fluoridation has been credited with reducing tooth decay by about 25% in children and adults. It is considered one of the most cost-effective ways to improve oral health and prevent dental cavities, which, if left untreated, can lead to more severe and expensive health problems.
According to the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research, the first large-scale study of fluoridating water was conducted in Grand Rapids, Mich., in 1945. After 11 years of observing school children, researchers found a 60% drop in the rate of tooth decay.
In 2011, according to news reports, the Canadian city of Calgary voted to stop adding fluoride to water serving 1.4 million people over concerns about the expense. They found dental decay and cavity treatments in children rising in the years that followed, along with the number of children receiving intravenous antibiotics for infections originating from rotting teeth. Calgary has since begun reintroducing fluoride to its water systems after a 2021 resident vote.
