On Tuesday, the Miami-Dade County Commission voted to discontinue fluoridating its community water supply following a push from anti-fluoride Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo.
The item, sponsored by commissioner Roberto Gonzalez, passed in an 8-2 vote after Ladapo spoke before the commission about why the county should discontinue the public health practice.
Commissioners Eileen Higgins and Raquel Regalado voted against the measure, while commissioners Keon Hardemon, Micky Steinberg, and Marleine Bastien were not present for the vote. Regalado had expressed concerns that the information presented was one-sided and only about the supposed harms of fluoridation.
“This is not something that you just Google search and make a decision on. We have not heard both sides,” Regalado said.
Ladapo and anti-fluoride University of Florida professor Dr. Ashley Malin were the only speakers allowed to address the whole commission before the item was brought to a vote. Dental experts and fluoride advocates were not granted the opportunity to speak with Ladapo, aside from the one minute they were each allotted during the public comment portion earlier in the meeting.
Dr. Johnny Johnson, a retired pediatric dentist and president of the American Fluoridation Society, asked to present before the commission about the danger of ending community water fluoridation but never received a response.
Miami-Dade mayor Daniella Levine Cava will now decide whether to approve or veto the item. The commission would need nine votes to override the mayoral veto.