Water Fluoridation

Community Water Fluoridation

All drinking water supplies contain some fluoride naturally. In fact, if you get your household water from a private well, it is important to have the water tested for naturally occurring Fluoride.  I have patients all around Franklin County that say they were surprised to find out that their well water contained Fluoride. 

Getting the right amount of fluoride is important to prevent tooth decay. It is also important to know that if your child has Fluoride treatments periodically at school, that is NOT a substitute for Fluoride in the drinking water. The Fluoride treatments at school only effect the teeth that are already in the mouth. Fluoride in the drinking water makes a measurable difference in how the new teeth, that are still below the gums, are forming. 

Water plant operators continuously monitor the fluoride content of drinking water in communities that fluoridate, so we should not get bent out of shape by all the hype surround the "anit-fluoride" movement.

That movement is using questionable science and fear to put pressure on individuals and public officials. Frankly, I have never known an argument that they make to hold up under careful scrutiny of the hard science.

Here's the facts...

The most favorable concentration for fluoride in drinking water in the United States varies from .7 parts-per-million (ppm) in hot climates to 1.2 ppm in cold climates. For moderate climates, 1 ppm is recommended.  (One ppm is the same as 1mg/L)

Although people living in non-fluoridated communities have benefited from these other sources of fluoride (tooth paste, natural Fluoride in well water), those living in publicly fluoridated communities generally experience 20 – 40 % less tooth decay.

Community water fluoridation is effective, safe, inexpensive, and practical. The average cost of fluoridation is about 50 cents per person a year. This is one of the best bargains in health today!

The safety of community water fluoridation has been studied more thoroughly than any other public health measure during the past 50 years. Hundreds of clinical, animals and laboratory studies support its safety.

There are several ways to learn if your community maintains optimum levels of fluoride in its drinking water, but DON'T TRUST WHAT YOU READ ON THE INTERNET, unless you are willing to do your own homework on the sources they quote. I once spent an entire day chasing down websites, links and scientific studies that the "anti-fluoride" people sent me and it was a farce! Not one link, website, or study they sighted was unbiased. Many links led nowhere. Most of the websites were managed by people with an agenda. DON'T TRUST WHAT YOU READ ON THE INTERNET UNLESS you are willing to check out the credibility of their "expert" sources yourself. 

A telephone call or letter to the utility that provides water for your community is probably the easiest way. They usually know their stuff!