The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services released the final Public Health Service (PHS) recommendation for the optimal fluoride level in drinking
water to prevent tooth decay. The new recommendation is for a single level of
0.7 milligrams of fluoride per liter of water. It updates and replaces the
previously recommended range of 0.7 to 1.2 milligrams per liter issued in 1962.
In Colorado, many of the Public Water Systems adjust fluoride
levels to be in line with this updated PHS community water fluoridation recommendation. For the past 70 years, communities
across the United States have found that fluoride in their public water systems
significantly improved their residents’ oral health. Community water fluoridation has led to such dramatic declines in both the prevalence and severity of tooth decay that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention named it one of 10 great public health achievements of the 20th century.
Nearly 75 percent of
Americans who are served by public water systems receive fluoridated water. Because it is now possible to receive
enough fluoride with slightly lower levels of fluoride in water, HHS developed
the new PHS recommendation for community water fluoridation. This change will maintain
the protective decay prevention benefits of water fluoridation and reduce the
occurrence of dental fluorosis.
“While additional sources of fluoride
are more widely used than they were in 1962, the need for community water
fluoridation still continues,” said U.S. Deputy Surgeon General Rear Admiral
Boris D. Lushniak, M.D., M.P.H. “Community water fluoridation is effective,
inexpensive and does not depend on access or availability of professional
services.”
For more information about community
water fluoridation, as well as information for health care providers and
individuals on how to prevent tooth decay and reduce the chance of developing
dental fluorosis, visit the CDC fluoridation webpage or CDPHE oral health unit website.
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