Bottled water and fluoride for our teeth

We grab a bottle of water as we rush out the door, heading to work, errands, and other activities of our busy lifestyle.  Bottled water is convenient; you may say it tastes better than the tap water in your home.  But does bottled water contain fluoride?  Do we need fluoride added to our water?

We don’t think often about fluoride but it’s considered one of our Top 10 Public Health Achievements of the 20^th century. In 1945 the first American community, Grand Rapids, Michigan, began adding fluoride to their water supply.  As public health and medical people watched, the rate of tooth decay declined in Grand Rapids, confirming the success of fluoridation (adding fluoride to water).  Other communities around the country began adding fluoride to their water supplies.  In 2010, 74% of public water supplies contain fluoride.  Centers for Disease Control (CDC), CDC Honors 65 Years of Community Water Fluoridation, http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/00056796.htm. 

People who oppose adding fluoride to our drinking water say it’s essentially medicating people without their approval and that we don’t know enough about fluoride and what it does to our bodies.  

More next time about fluoride in our water.