Fluoride in US Water Finally Lowered After 50 Years

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Fluoride content in US water is now being lowered for health reasons. According to Fox News, fluoride has been added to drinking water for more than 50 years. 

Yahoo states that the old standard of fluoride added to water in warmer climates, where people tend to drink more water, was 0.7 milligrams per liter. In cooler areas, 1.2 milligrams of fluoride was recommended. The new standard is 0.7 milligrams per liter of fluoride in water everywhere. 

The government has lowered the recommended fluoride levels added to water because people are now exposed to more fluoride in other products, like toothpaste and mouthwash, states Tech Times.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says, "Don't use fluoride toothpaste for children under 2 unless recommended by a dentist; use only a pea-sized amount of toothpaste for children 2 through 6, and avoid fluoride mouthwash," reports Yahoo. 

The increased exposure to fluoride has lead to white splotches on the teeth of children, known as fluorosis. Tech Times describes fluorosis as "scattered white flecks, frosty edges or chalk-like lines on the teeth, while the white spots get larger with severe fluorosis." According to a study, 2 out of every 5 adolescents have tooth streaking or spottiness, reports Fox News. 

Yahoo states that the United States Environmental Protection Agency wrote, "Fluoride is voluntarily added to some drinking systems as a public health measure for reducing the incidence of cavities among the treated population. The decision to fluoridate a water supply... is not mandated by EPA or any other federal entity." 

The benefits of fluoride to teeth was discovered in the 1930s, notes Tech Times. Medical researchers at the time, found that people who lived in areas that had higher fluoride levels in their water were less prone to tooth decay.  

Fluoride is naturally stored in saliva and dental plaque. The mineral can also be found in water and soil, states Yahoo. Researchers found that people who drank water that contained more fluoride had fewer cavities. 

Grand Rapids, Michigan, was the first city in the world to add fluoride to its drinking water in 1945, Tech Times says. A study conducted six years later found that there was a "dramatic" decline of tooth decay among children in that area.  

Presumably, due to the studies and research proving fluoride reduced cavities, the government has recommended that fluoride be added to drinking water since 1962. Currently, almost 75 percent of Americans drink fluoridated water.