Fluoride cuts cavities and tooth decay, but health officials worry that it's damaging kids' teeth in other ways.By Amy Capetta
Excessive fluoride in U.S. drinking water is causing an irreversible condition known as dental fluorosis to affect children's teeth. In response, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is proposing a limitation on the amount of fluoride, which is added to water to prevent cavities and tooth decay, to 0.7 milligrams per liter of water. Since 1962, the recommended fluoride levels have been between 0.7 and 1.2 milligrams.
The lacy white spotting and streaking indicative of dental fluorosis develop when children's teeth are forming.
"It can result when children regularly consume higher-than-recommended amounts of fluoride during the teeth forming years, age 8 and younger," Dr. Scott M. Presson, Dental Public Health Consultant and past chair of the American Public Health Association, told AOL Health.
Aside from having a cosmetic impact on teeth, dental fluorosis can disturb cells that affect maturation of the enamel, causing increased porosity and resulting in the pitting, chipping, fracturing and decaying of teeth. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, two out of five adolescents suffer from the condition due to excessive fluoride from drinking artificially fluoridated water or water that is naturally high in fluoride.
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3 comments:
They do and they are doing fine. But it's true I see on many friends in their teens and 20s this whiteness on the teeth. I think flouride should be regulated by doctors and not in public drinking water.
My youngest has these issues - never from bottled beverages, must be the public water. The older two went through these years in a different town, we moved states.
It is a shame because it is very disfiguring - we are considering cosmetic dentistry as a result - $$$
Sorry to read this Kathy. It's a shame because it just shouldn't be in the public water supply. At the same time we're not supposed to prescribe fluoride. So confusing. I hate that my former mom boss told the doctor not to give a script of fluoride since she bought bottled water with fluoride, which is not measurable. She did the same with sunscreen saying the kids need vitamin D so doesn't apply it until a half hour at the pool which is the complete opposite advice a pediatrician would give. Just saw Dr Oz say you should use 30 SPF everyday even if you aren't planning to go outside! Eat the vitamin D, drink the vitamin D.
Why isn't the FDA regulating this?
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