Fluoride in water lowered; too much causing splotchy teeth

NEW YORK (WLS) -- The government is lowering the recommended amount of fluoride, a mineral that helps prevent tooth decay, added to drinking water for the first time in more than 50 years.

Because fluoride is also added to toothpaste, mouthwash and other products, some people are getting too much of it. Too much of the mineral can lead to white splotches on teeth, which are common on two of every five adolescents, according to one study.

"It doesn't mean fluoridated water is bad by any stretch. All it means is that now, over the last 50 years, so much other sources of fluoride in the environment," Dr. Clark Stanford, dean UIC College of Dentistry, said. "Now what we're observing is a it's a little too much of a good thing."

Since 1962, the government has been advising water systems to add fluoride to a level of 0.7 parts per million for warmer climates, where people drink more water, to 1.2 parts per million in cooler areas. The new standard is 0.7 everywhere.

"Scrolling it back doesn't mean that there's anything wrong with fluoride," Dr. Stanford said. "It's just the fact that people are getting enough of it from multiple other sources."

Today, about 75 percent of Americans get fluoridated water.

The change announced Monday finalizes a proposal first made four years ago. The government spent years sorting through and responding to 19,000 public comments.

CDC on fluoridation: http://www.cdc.gov/fluoridation