USA Question and Answer
I heard growing up that there’s fluoride in the tap water, added because it has benefits for kids’ teeth. But that’s not the case in Napa, is it? Why don’t we have fluoride in our drinking water?
Well, we do have fluoride in our drinking water. Joy Eldredge, a senior civil engineer with the city of Napa water division told me we have naturally-occuring fluoride in our water. The state sets a “maximum contaminant level” for fluoride at 2 parts per million with a public health goal of 1 ppm. Napa’s tap water is below that at an average of .25 ppm. We don’t add fluoride to our water.
The American Dental Association endorses having fluoridated water and using fluoridated products. According to its Web site, 1 ppm equates to: 1 inch in 16 miles, 1 minute in 2 years, or 1 cent in $10,000. So it’s not a lot in our water, but that also shows that it’s powerful stuff.
There’s a lot of controversy over whether additional fluoride in the water is healthy. A Google search on “fluoride” and “water” comes up with a lot of hits, mostly warning of the dangers of fluoridated water.
One side, as represented by www.fluorideinfo.org, finds that fluoride in the water is too broad an application of something we get enough of in our toothpaste. This anti-fluoridation stance holds that excess fluoride can be detrimental to teeth, and comes with a host of medical side effects like a lower IQ, bone cancer, changes to bone structure that increase the likelihood of fractures, impaired immune system and speckled teeth. The anti- camp also questions the validity of studies cited by the pro- camp.
Eldredge said when she was in the Peace Corps in Africa she could tell the people who lived in areas where fluoride is naturally occurring in the water in high amounts. She could see it in their smiles, but not in the way you’d think. She said the people from high-fluoride areas had decayed and weak teeth.
The other side, as represented by Web sites like www.kidshealth.org, finds that fluoridated water is a cheaper and more consistent way to deliver fluoride to the population, as compared to fluoride tablets. The pro-fluoride camp finds no adverse health effects and questions the scientific soundness of the experiments in the anti-camp. The California Department of Health Services falls into the pro- camp. Its Web site states fluoridation is safe effective and economical, but limits the amount of fluoride that can go in the water. The site also states that adults and children benefit from drinking fluoridated water and that more than half of U.S. cities fluoridate their water supplies.
My dentist, Dr. Sam Gittings, said he used to be a proponent of fluoride in the water, but now he’s thinking twice. The studies he’s read recently have said that it’s more effective in preventing tooth decay to apply fluoride topically — meaning applying it directly to your teeth with your toothpaste or with the fluoride-treatment trays at the dentist.
“I’m fine that it’s not in the water system,” Gittings said. He acknowledged that some people may want to eliminate it altogether but he says that if you cut out all fluoride also cut out the sugars and sodas in your diet, which promote tooth decay, because without fluoride your defenses are down. Gittings still recommends fluoride toothpaste, but says if the science later shows that it’s not effective or harmful he’ll change his mind on that too.
Fluoride is naturally occurring, Gittings reiterated, so people with wells should be careful before taking a supplement. Some toothpastes don’t have fluoride, including a couple of Tom’s of Maine offerings, but you’re not likely to stumble across a non-fluoride toothpaste, it takes some looking to find them.
Well, we do have fluoride in our drinking water. Joy Eldredge, a senior civil engineer with the city of Napa water division told me we have naturally-occuring fluoride in our water. The state sets a “maximum contaminant level” for fluoride at 2 parts per million with a public health goal of 1 ppm. Napa’s tap water is below that at an average of .25 ppm. We don’t add fluoride to our water.
The American Dental Association endorses having fluoridated water and using fluoridated products. According to its Web site, 1 ppm equates to: 1 inch in 16 miles, 1 minute in 2 years, or 1 cent in $10,000. So it’s not a lot in our water, but that also shows that it’s powerful stuff.
There’s a lot of controversy over whether additional fluoride in the water is healthy. A Google search on “fluoride” and “water” comes up with a lot of hits, mostly warning of the dangers of fluoridated water.
One side, as represented by www.fluorideinfo.org, finds that fluoride in the water is too broad an application of something we get enough of in our toothpaste. This anti-fluoridation stance holds that excess fluoride can be detrimental to teeth, and comes with a host of medical side effects like a lower IQ, bone cancer, changes to bone structure that increase the likelihood of fractures, impaired immune system and speckled teeth. The anti- camp also questions the validity of studies cited by the pro- camp.
Eldredge said when she was in the Peace Corps in Africa she could tell the people who lived in areas where fluoride is naturally occurring in the water in high amounts. She could see it in their smiles, but not in the way you’d think. She said the people from high-fluoride areas had decayed and weak teeth.
The other side, as represented by Web sites like www.kidshealth.org, finds that fluoridated water is a cheaper and more consistent way to deliver fluoride to the population, as compared to fluoride tablets. The pro-fluoride camp finds no adverse health effects and questions the scientific soundness of the experiments in the anti-camp. The California Department of Health Services falls into the pro- camp. Its Web site states fluoridation is safe effective and economical, but limits the amount of fluoride that can go in the water. The site also states that adults and children benefit from drinking fluoridated water and that more than half of U.S. cities fluoridate their water supplies.
My dentist, Dr. Sam Gittings, said he used to be a proponent of fluoride in the water, but now he’s thinking twice. The studies he’s read recently have said that it’s more effective in preventing tooth decay to apply fluoride topically — meaning applying it directly to your teeth with your toothpaste or with the fluoride-treatment trays at the dentist.
“I’m fine that it’s not in the water system,” Gittings said. He acknowledged that some people may want to eliminate it altogether but he says that if you cut out all fluoride also cut out the sugars and sodas in your diet, which promote tooth decay, because without fluoride your defenses are down. Gittings still recommends fluoride toothpaste, but says if the science later shows that it’s not effective or harmful he’ll change his mind on that too.
Fluoride is naturally occurring, Gittings reiterated, so people with wells should be careful before taking a supplement. Some toothpastes don’t have fluoride, including a couple of Tom’s of Maine offerings, but you’re not likely to stumble across a non-fluoride toothpaste, it takes some looking to find them.
posted by Bill at
9:43 AM
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