Bottled water and your teeth

Bottled water and your teeth

Drinking bottled water could be harming your teeth!

For more than six decades, dental professionals and organizations, including the American Dental Association (ADA) have endorsed the fluoridation of public water supplies to prevent tooth decay and promote oral health. Fluoride has long been recognized as a safe, effective way for people of all ages to prevent dental decay. Many toothpastes and mouth rinses contain fluoride, and your dentist can deliver concentrated levels via in-office fluoride treatments performed at your regular dental cleaning visits.

Chances are though, your favorite brand of bottled water may not contain optimal levels  (0.7-1.2 ppm) fluoride. Meaning that you may not be receiving the full benefits of fluoride while you're staying hydrated with bottled water. Some brands of bottled water do contain fluoride. The same confusion arises from city water, some areas are fluoridated other are not. Vancouver for example does not add fluoride to it's drinking water.

In Canada bottled water is required to contain the follow information on it's label

• common name,
• list of ingredients if it consists of more than one ingredient,
• net quantity, and
• name and address of the company responsible.

•  fluoride ion content;

• dissolved mineral salt content,
• statement indicating whether ozone or fluoride has been added, and
• statement relating the geographic location of the underground source of the water.

•  description of any treatment the water has undergone.

"One of the reasons people choose to drink bottled water instead of tap water is because of the perceived purity of bottled water," the researchers observe, and indeed, 39 samples of bottled water were found to be purer than the tap water. However, 15 samples of bottled water had significantly higher bacteria levels than the tap water. Of these 15, the bacteria counts were more than twice as high as the most contaminated tap water sample and almost 2,000 times higher than the purest tap water sample. Want more information on specific brands of water? Go to the bottom of the page at this link or google "bottled water".

So the next time you're feeling thirsty, do your planet, your wallet, and your teeth a favor and head for the tap with a reusable cup!

If you're concerned about your teeth, and want to ensure you get enough fluoride protection talk to your dentist. There are also reasons to be concerned about consuming too much fluoride for infants and young children (younger than 8years) as excessive amounts of fluoride while teeth are initally developing beneath the gums can lead to fluorosis or 'white spotting'. The  friendly staff at A Smile Above Design Inc., (Vancouver, BC) . will be glad to answer any questions you may have. Dr. Roberts can have a look at your teeth and discuss the importance of fluoride with respect to your particular situation.

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