How Much Fluoride Is Too Much?

Fluoride might be good for your children’s teeth, but debate continues whether fluoride over the long term has adverse effects on children’s health. Several studies have suggested that fluoride could endanger babies’ health. Since almost half of the country’s community water supplies have added fluoride, this mineral could pose a threat to children’s drinking water.

The studies have claimed that too much fluoride can cause a condition called fluorosis, which could cause severe tooth damage to children, especially those at six months or younger. Since their blood-brain barriers have not been fully formed during this time, fluorosis could cause damage and disorders to the brain and nervous system. Other studies even indicated that too much fluoride could cause reduced IQ levels and bone cancer.

The United States Environmental Protection Agency has acknowledged the risks of high fluoride levels on drinking water to a person’s health and has resolved a maximum contaminant level of 4.0 mg or 4.0 ppm. Your water supplier should be able to inform you of the amount of fluoride present in your water system to know if this abides by the standards set by the EPA.

The EPA also recommends installing a reverse osmosis filtration system to remove significant traces of fluoride in your household’s drinking water. Unlike any other filtration system, reverse osmosis is the only proven way of removing fluoride from your drinking water.