Canada - Fluoride letter misleading

Fluoride letter misleading
Posted 18 hours ago
The recent letter to the editor, "Keep the fluoride in toothpaste, but out of the region's water," was misleading.
It states, "A 2006 report by the National Research Council has recommended the U.S. federal government lower its fluoride limit for drinking water, because of the numerous health risks to both children and adults."
The report is not referring to the guidelines of 0.7 to 1.2 mg/L for adding fluoride to drinking water to protect the public from dental decay. The report makes that distinction.
The report refers to the maximum allowable concentration for fluoride in drinking water of 4mg/L. The concern is with fluoride concentrations in water from natural sources that are much higher than normal.
If a person drinks eight glasses of water at 0.7 mg/L per day to achieve an adequate fluoride intake for the reduction of dental decay, that person would have to increase his/her intake to 46 glasses per day to reach a level that may have some health concerns. Routinely drinking over 45 glasses of water per day would be quite a challenge.

Jim Jeffs, DDS

Pelham