NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — One effort to get fluoride out of Tennessee's public water supply failed in a state Senate committee Wednesday, but the legislature is still moving on a separate bill that would reduce the level of fluoride across the state.
Two bills in the Tennessee Senate have the potential to alter the quality of water from your facet. A proposed bill that would have banned fluoride in public water systems has stalled. Meanwhile, another bill discussed in the state Senate Wednesday aims to limit and reduce fluoride levels.
"There is no one that is forced to drink the water," a former dentist in Clarksville, Dr. Leon Stanislav, said.
According to the Tennessee Department of Health, as of 2023, nearly 90% of Tennessee's tap water was treated with fluoride. The state health department called community water fluoridation "the most natural and cost-effective means of protecting residents in a community from tooth decay."
"The more I delve into this, the more concerned I am," Senator Rusty Crowe (R-Johnson City) said. "...We are looking at a toxic substance, guys, and all we are saying is let’s just make sure that we test it and keep it at 0.7."
The U.S. Public Health Service panel has recommended a fluoride concentration of 0.7 milligrams per liter to prevent tooth decay. The bill discussed Wednesday calls for a reduction from 1.5 milligrams per liter to 0.4 milligrams per liter and calls for regular testing of water. Additionally, the bill mandates a written notice that fluoridation has stopped.
"Point seven — that is what we recommend. That's the minimum optimal level. That's not the maximum; it's the minimum that provides protective health to prevent tooth decay," Stanislav said.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, frequent and consistent contact with low levels of fluoride has reduced tooth decay by about 25% in children.
"If we leave it strictly so close to .7 that they have to hit it precisely, they are going to go below, and if they go below, we start to lose that optimum benefit of fluoride," Stanislav added.
"Can you name another situation where we force the public to consume a chemical?" Senator Adam Lowe, (R-Calhoun) asked Stanislav.
"I don’t think anyone is forced to consume it," Stanislav answered.
The bill banning fluoridation in public waters failed in the Senate Energy, Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee.