BRADENTON, Fla. (WFLA) — It started with one commissioner asking questions.

That opened up a whole new can of worms when commissioners, and then the public, found out the machine that fluoridates the water in Manatee County hasn’t worked in years.

Now, the question is, do they start adding the fluoride back to the water or not?

Manatee County commissioners will vote on whether to eliminate it Tuesday.

“It should be something that we have a choice about at this point,” Commissioner Amanda Ballard said.

Ballard explained to 8 On Your Side, her concerns surrounding fluoride began to rise last year when she says a meta-analysis was published.

“There was a lawsuit that was based off of that and then the surgeon general of Florida came out and said maybe we should look at removing this from our water,” she said. “So at that point, I decided that there was enough research available that it was time to give people a choice.”

So, she started asking questions.

“I actually found out that here in Manatee County, the machine that does the fluoridation has actually been broken in the county since 2021,” Ballard explained.

Ballard is in favor of this ordinance:

Commissioners will vote on it Tuesday.

It would end the requirement of adding fluoride to Manatee County’s water supply.

Dr. Lauri Wright is the director of nutrition programs at the University of South Florida.

News Channel 8 asked her how exactly fluoride impacts tooth decay in children.

“It’s the calcium and fluoride that form the tooth but it’s the fluoride that kind of puts a shellac or a hard coat that helps protect us from dental cavities,” she said.

But Wright disagrees with the recent studies suggesting there are serious health risks associated with fluoride.

“Number one, it’s unrealistically high doses,” she explained. “Number two, the methodology has been really flawed and inconclusive.”

As for the people of Manatee County, they have differing opinions.

“I don’t see any benefit whatsoever of putting chemical waste into our water system,” Michelle Martin told commissioners.

Dr. Steve Tinsworth disagreed saying, “You treat water with chemicals every day to make it safe. Fluoride is no different.”

Tuesday’s meeting starts at 9 a.m. at the Manatee County Administration Building.