Union County commissioners voted 3-2 Monday night to ban the use of fluoride in the county's water system.
Commissioners Brian Helms, David Williams and Melissa Merrell voted for the motion, while Commission Chair J.R. Rowel and Commissioner Richard Helms voted against it.
Fluoride has been safely added to public water systems in the U.S. since the 1940s, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention find no risk to humans when it is added to drinking water in controlled levels.
The vote Monday came after a group of concerned citizens, who call themselves the "Fluoride Fighters," said they worried about fluoride's potential harms such as lowering children's IQ, and said the county was violating their medical freedoms by fluoridating its water.
Speaking before the vote, Williams said he agreed people should have the right to choose what goes in their water.
"Let's stop putting something in the water that's meant to treat us, and give people the freedom to choose. What an extraordinary idea, you know?" he said.
Brian Helms, who also voted for the measure, said he didn't believe the board should overrule the medical wishes of residents.
"Should this board ignore consent by putting a substance in the water that is for dental or medicinal benefit? Are we not at least in a sense mandating medication for the public?" he asked.
Before the vote, the commission heard from dentists and other supporters of fluoridation who pointed out that other chemicals like chlorine are often added to water to keep people healthy.
Richard Helms said he grew up on well water and had a history of dental issues, but that his children avoided that by growing up with fluoridated water.
"My children had the blessing of growing up with fluoride in their water and it has done that. They have very little dental issues," he said.
Only a very small number of U.S. cities don't fluoridate their water, including Wichita, Kansas; Portland, Oregon; and Honolulu, Hawaii.
The vote Monday night affects the Yadkin Water Treatment Plant, which opened in December 2023.
