Optimal fluoride level, drinking water

The natural level of fluoride in drinking water where the child lives should be known before dietary fluoride is prescribed. At present, it is suggested that fluoride supplements be limited to where drinking water contains 60% or less of the optimal level of fluorides recommended for community water in the geographic area. 

Although the optimal level of fluoride in drinking water is well documented, there is no established allowance for fluoride administered once a day. 

The Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (commonly referred to as the CDC) has recommended the ophmal level for fluoride in drinking water (2), which is dependent on water temperature and population type. As water temperature increases, the optimal level decreases. For community water systems (serving both adult and children) with water temperatures ranging from 50 to 53.7°F, the optimal level is 1.2 mg/L for community water systems with water temperature ranging from 79.3 to 90.5°F, the optimal level is 0.7 mg/L. Table 3 presents the optimal fluoride level for community water systems. As shown in Table 4, the optimal levels are significant higher for a school public water supply system. The optimal level for school children is 4.5 times the levels for the general population serviced by a community system. 

Although fluoride is very toxic at high concentrations, fluorine is a trace element naturally present in the diet which is essential for the formation of healthy bones and teeth, and resistance to dental caries is substantially reduced in children whose intake is inadequate at the stage of enamel formation. Much of the fluoride ingested by humans dependent on water from wells must orginally have been obtained from the water supply. It has been established that the optimal level of fluoride in drinking water, for the prevention of dental caries, is about 1 ppm. 

Over 300 million people worldwide now consume optimally fluoridated water. The U.S. Public Health Service has established recommended levels for fluoride concentrations in water supplies in accordance with mean annual temperatures. The daily intake of fluoride not only comes from drinking water but also from food consumed or prepared with fluoridated water. Also, crops are frequently fertilized with phosphate fertilizers of high soluble-fluoride content, and food products including bone in animal feeds contain fluoride. 

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