For over fifty years in the United States fluoride has been added to municipal water supplies in order to improve the dental health of citizens. These efforts have largely been thought to be successful, and in fact the efficacy of the results has been demonstrated in numerous studies performed over the years.
It now appears that the fluoride pendulum may have swung too far. As time progressed, fluoride was added to toothpaste and mouthwash, and then a lot of other products that people consume, like soft drinks and some canned foods. It has been observed that young people from 12-15 years of age in particular seem to have more fluorosis than in previous years. This is a condition that causes white specks to appear on teeth, and in severe cases teeth are slightly pitted.
Government health authorities in the United States are in the process of lowering the recommended levels of fluoride in local water to 0.7 milligrams per liter from the previous targets of 0.7 to 1.3 milligrams per liter of water. People who live in areas where the actual fluoride levels are 2.0 milligrams per liter or higher are advised to find alternate sources of drinking water for their kids.
What induced the U.S. federal government to begin the water fluoridation project was the fact that localities with high levels of natural fluoride in water had people with better dental health than other areas. This was studied extensively in the middle of the last century before the idea was implemented.
Some studies seem to indicate that having too much fluoride might lead to brittle and weak bones, but these results are preliminary, and more work is needed to confirm these tendencies and to determine the proper levels for optimum health.
It is easy for people to find out the level of fluoride that is in their local water supply, since all water companies are required to measure and report this. You can find this information on the CDC web site. CDC stands for Centers for Disease Control. An Internet search for something like "my water's fluoride CDC" will result in the proper page of the CDC web site. There is a clickable map of the U.S., and you just have to fill in some information for your state, and you will quickly get the information. In my local area, for example, the amount of fluoride reported by the water utility that provides service indicates that the levels range from 0.62 to 1.40 milligrams per liter. If you find that the level in your area is higher than you prefer you can make an effort to supervise the amount of fluoride your children consume. For young kids you can teach them to take only about a pea size portion of toothpaste each day and to spit that out after brushing rather than swallowing it, for example.
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Article: How Much Fluoride Is Too Much? Author: Walt Ballenberger Publication Date: 2011-01-18 Total Views: 199 Word Count: 510 Category:Home /
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