ADA Commends New Fluoride Recommendations

The newly-elected president of the American Dental Association, Dr. Raymond Gist, applauded the government’s new recommendations on fluoride in drinking water. In a statement he made on January 7, 2011, Dr. Gist said, “This is a superb example of a government agency fulfilling it’s mission to protect and enhance the health of the American people.”

In a joint announcement, both the Department of Health and Human Services and the Environmental Protection Agency agreed that a recalculation of our recommended levels should be made. The new levels will be set at a specific point on the lower end of the current recommended range. This is based on an increase in dental fluorosis over the past 20 years. Flourosis is a whitish brown mottling that is seen in teeth when excessive amounts of fluoride is ingested during tooth formation. Our office has been recommending lower levels of fluoride for over three decades based on our own observations of erupting teeth in the practice. Fluoride comes from so many other sources besides the water our children drink. It is in the bread made at your bakery, the juice made from concentrate and just about any pre-packaged food you can think of. Lower levels in our West Chester water supply plus the trace amounts from these other sources all add up to optimal levels for our children. If you have any questions, please call us or you can also visit the ADA website at:

http://www.ada.org/fluoride.aspx