The longstanding debate on adding fluoride to water systems is front and center again.On friday, florida surgeon general joseph ladapo advisi

Ladapo on Friday also appeared in Winter Haven, where city commissioners earlier this month voted 3-2 to remove fluoride from its drinking water by the end of the year. Community water fluoridation has been used for seven decades as a method of preventing tooth decay.

One was a federal study released in August by the National Toxicology Program, part of the Department of Health and Human Services, that linked lower IQs in children with high levels of fluoride exposure — at rates about double the fluoride that’s found in Miami-Dade and other municipal water systems.

Florida Surgeon General Dr. Joseph Ladapo has officially issued guidance recommending against fluoride statewide, citing the “neuropsychiatric risk associated

Florida's surgeon general, Dr. Joseph Ladapo, cited developmental concerns from higher levels of fluoride than are found in most U.S. water supplies.

It was the latest in a long list of public health recommendations from Ladapo criticized by associations that represent the people providing the care.

Bartow is one of only five Polk County cities that continue to add fluoride to drinking water. The city will talk about the policy at Monday's meeting.

As Florida's top health official encourages cities and counties to discontinue fluoride in their water supply, warnings are coming in from communities that have already done so.