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Fluoride monitor (at left) in a community water tower pumphouse, Minnesota, 1987 Fluoridation does not affect the appearance, taste, or smell of drinking water. [1] It is normally accomplished by adding one of three compounds to the water: sodium fluoride, fluorosilicic acid, or sodium fluorosilicate.
The CDC recommends water fluoridation at a level of 0.7–1.2 mg/L, depending on climate. The CDC also advises parents to monitor use of fluoride toothpaste, and use an alternative water source other than a natural water source with a fluoride concentration above 2 mg/L, for children up to the age of 8.
Water fluoridation is the controlled addition of fluoride to a public water supply to reduce tooth decay, and is handled differently by countries across the world [2].. Water fluoridation is considered very common in the United States, Canada, Ireland, Chile and Australia where over 50% of the population drinks fluoridated water.
The reason most Americans have fluoride in their drinking water stretches back more than a century to a mysterious outbreak scattered across the Midwest and western US.. In the early 1900s ...
The same was true for fluoride levels of less than 1.5 mg/L, which is the upper safe limit of fluoride in drinking water as established by the World Health Organization.
Adding fluoride to drinking water reduces rates of cavities by around 25%, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says.
Water and food sources of fluoride include community water fluoridation, seafood, tea, and gelatin. [52] Soluble fluoride salts, of which sodium fluoride is the most common, are toxic, and have resulted in both accidental and self-inflicted deaths from acute poisoning. [4]
Water fluoridation is not mandatory, and while there is a recommended fluoride concentration in drinking water (0.7 milligrams per liter) from the CDC, that level is not an enforceable standard.