6 February 20-26, 2025 miaminewtimes.com | browardpalmbeach.com New Times | music | cafe | culture | Night+Day | news | letters | coNteNts | Month XX–Month XX, 2008 miaminewtimes.com MIAMI NEW TIMES | MUSIC | CAFE | FILM | ART | STAGE | NIGHT+DAY | METRO | RIPTIDE | LETTERS | CONTENTS | ORAL SECT Miami-Dade commissioner invites Joseph Ladapo to testify on fluoride risks. BY NAOMI FEINSTEIN M iami-Dade County commissioner Ro- berto Gonzalez is put- ting on the full court press to add Miami-Dade to the growing list of Florida municipal- ities and local governments that have stopped adding fluoride to its water supply. On February 12, Gonzalez announced on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, that he has invited Florida Surgeon General and staunch anti-fluoride believer Joseph Ladapo to testify before the county Safety and Health Committee about community fluoridation in hopes of convincing the county to end the widely-accepted health practice. “I just met with Florida Surgeon General Dr. Joseph Ladapo to discuss his concerns about fluoride in our drinking water and its effects on neurological health, IQ, and disease propensity,” he said in a video on X. “This is- sue is crucial to public health, especially our children, and it’s important that we examine the science, listen to experts, and consider the impact on our communities.” Ladapo added in the video, “Commis- sioner, thank you very much for coming down here and speaking with us. Thank you for leading these efforts in Miami-Dade. It’s so important for the community. They are going to be healthier because of your efforts when we get the extra fluoride out of the water.” Like Ladapo, Gonzalez has spread the un- founded claims that the mineral poses a dan- ger to children by lowering IQ levels and increasing the risk of neuropsychiatric dis- ease, despite decades of research proving that community fluoridation is key in preventing tooth decay and one of the ten great public health interven- tions of the 20th Century. Public health experts have emphasized that 0.7 milli- grams of fluoride per liter of water in drinking water is not a danger to the community. Following Ladapo’s press conference in November where he called fluoridation a “public health malpractice,” and urged offi- cials across the Sunshine State to stop add- ing fluoride to their community water supplies, Gonzalez applauded him. (X users added a community note reading, “None of the attached studies found any statistically significant correlation between fluoridation of water and any variable relating to cogni- tion or IQ.”) “The science has been ignored on this for a long time, we need to act quickly and help our residents from unnecessary toxins,” Gonza- lez wrote on X in November. Despite the commissioner’s insistence that the county ends community fluoridation, Miami-Dade Water and Sewer Department Director Roy Coley previously told New Times that the department’s current fluoride practices are in line with public health rec- ommendations that fluoride at appropriate levels is an effective public health measure. The county also regularly samples the drink- ing water supply to ensure it meets all regula- tory standards, Coley said. “The department remains committed to supporting the health and wellbeing of our community and will adjust our fluoridation practices if needed based on any changes to regulatory requirements or scientific consen- sus,” Coley added. Since Ladapo and the Florida Department of Health issued a “community water guid- ance” against water fluoridation in November, at least a dozen local governments have stopped adding fluoride to their water supplies. [email protected] “Had a productive meeting with the Secretary of Health, @FLSurgeonGen on how we can make Miami-Dade residents healthier,” Miami-Dade Commissioner Roberto Gonzalez wrote on February 6. Photo via X/@RobJGonzalezFL | METRO | LADAPO HAS CALLED FLUORIDATION OF COMMUNITY WATER SUPPLIES A “PUBLIC HEALTH MALPRACTICE.”
