The painstaking debate continues about whether or not fluoride in your drinking water is beneficial for your teeth and health. For years, we were not concerned about what was in the water we drank, unless we noticed something floating around in it. However, the particles you don’t see is the thing that sends a cross bone and skull warning sign flying in front of our water sources and receptacles.
We are inundated with reports about the effects of fluoride and its impact on tooth decay. Some dental researchers indicate that the benefits of fluoride are primarily topical and not systemic. While we are not attacking the dental industry, there are many reviews and studies that discuss the dangers of a high intake of fluoride which extends beyond cosmetic concern. When examining the possible health effects associated with fluoride in drinking water, the EPA noted that exposure to excessive consumption of fluoride over a lifetime may lead to the likelihood of increased bone fractures in adults, along with pain and tenderness. They go on to say that children 8 years old and younger who are exposed to excessive amounts of fluoride increase their chances of developing pits in the tooth enamel, as well as a range of other cosmetic effects to their teeth.
Many contaminants found in our drinking water warrants significant concern for purification and safety. If your water comes from a household or private well, be sure to check with your health department or local water systems that use ground water, for information on harmful contaminants in your area. There is a variety of filtration systems designed to help remove or reduce numerous waterborne contaminants. When asked about how to remove fluoride from your drinking water, the EPA gave the following statement: “The following treatment method(s) have proven to be effective for removing fluoride to below 4.0 mg/L or 4.0 ppm: distillation or reverse osmosis.”
Reverse Osmosis Systems (RO) will typically use carbon filters, sediment filters and an RO membrane to reduce and remove waterborne contaminants. Reverse Osmosis (RO) removes more contaminants at a higher rate of efficiency than other forms of water filtration. We recommend that you use a reverse osmosis system like the Aqua-Pure APRO5500 Reverse Osmosis Water Filter, the Pentek RO-3500 Monitored Reverse Osmosis System or the Aqua Flo E75TFC-3SFBP RO System with Booster Pump for removing fluoride. The reverse osmosis system is normally located or installed under the sink.
So what do you think about fluoride in your drinking water? “To fluoride or not to fluoride? That is the question!” We would love to hear your comments about this ongoing discussion regarding the trials and tribulations of fluoride in our drinking water. We also invite you to vote in our poll that you will find in the upper right-hand corner on this blog. Do you own a reverse osmosis system? If so, we invite you to share your experience with us.
Adam S. says
Good to hear from you too Daniel. Hope everything went well with the birth of your child.
I’m doing OK, though in hindsight I shouldn’t have quit the job so rashly back in January since I have been unable to secure steady employment thus far. But I’m hoping something will come up soon; I’ve surely sent out enough resumes!
Like I said above, I still check out this blog as well as the Twitter feed from time to time, so I’ll stay in touch. Y’all stay busy over there and keep filtering fast! 🙂
In terms of continuing the discussion of the fluoride issue, it really doesn’t make sense to add fluoride to public water considering it’s already found in toothpaste, mouthwash, certain foods and drinks, etc — as such everyone who brushes their teeth ingests a certain amount of fluoride every day; thus there is no need to also add it to public water supplies, just seems like fluoride overkill. Also there is the fact that most other advanced industrialized countries in Europe and Asia discontinued water fluoridation many years ago.
Daniel says
Thanks Adam, it’s good to hear from you! Hope you’re also doing well.
Adam S. says
Hey Kym: no problem sharing the story — it seemed particularly pertinent given it was a local news story related to fluoride. It is important to gain more information regarding the levels of fluoride currently found in public water supplies.
Daniel, Selwa, and everyone else: I hope everything is going alright there in the office these days.
Kym says
Hi Adam! Thanks so much for sharing this story with us. We are witnessing increased conversation and action being taken by many local, state and national agencies regarding this issue. I’m happy to see Charlotte Mecklenburg respond to the growing concern many residents have regarding fluoride in their drinking water. As advised by health officials, taking action by reducing the amount of fluoride in our public water supply is a very positive start. I commend their efforts. Thanks again for responding and sharing this update!
Adam S. says
Howdy Selwa and Daniel, it’s your former coworker Adam S. — I still check in here from time to time; I saw this news story and thought I’d post it here for reference: Charlotte plans to reduce the amount of fluoride it adds to the public water supply.
“Based on guidance from local, state and federal health officials, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Utilities plans to reduce the amount of fluoride added in tap water.” – http://charmeck.org/mecklenburg/county/HealthDepartment/TopNews/Pages/PlanToScaleBackFluoride.aspx