If bottled water is your main source of drinking water, you could be missing out on the decay-preventative benefits of fluoride. While the fluoride content of bottled water varies greatly, the vast majority of bottled waters do not contain optimal levels of fluoride. Some contain no fluoride at all.
How can you make sure you and your family are getting the right amount of fluoride protection in bottled water? Check the label for fluoride content. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s current regulations do not require bottled water companies to indicate fluoride content on bottled water labels, unless it has been added to the water.
Contact the company if the fluoride content is not shown on the label and ask what level of fluoride the water contains. To help prevent tooth decay, water should contain 0.7 to 1.2 ppm of fluoride.
Do not overlook your home water treatment systems, such as reverse osmosis and distillation units, which may remove fluoride from your water supply. It is a good idea to check the manual or to contact the manufacturer if you cannot determine their effect on fluoride levels.
Thank you for reading. I encourage you to leave questions or comments below. To learn more about my practice, please visit www.elitesacramentodentist.com
Your friendly dentist,
Dr. Sarah Po
June 10, 2010
Source: http://ada.org/sections/publicResources/pdfs/patient_30.pdf
