It is recommended by The Chief Medical Officer of Health for the province of Ontario that the level of fluoride in drinking water be between 0.6 to 0.8 parts per million (ppm). MWRA maintains a target fluoride level of 0.7 ppm, as recommended by the CDC and US HHS, and EPA to reduce tooth decay. (There’s no ethical way to complete such a study, Christakis says.) Christakis stresses that this is only one study, and an observational one at that—meaning it looked only at associations between fluoride intake and IQ, rather than randomly assigning some women to ingest fluoride, then tracking their children’s development compared to a control group. People who live in the dwindling number of non-fluoridated communities should help educate their state and local officials about the need to fluoridate. "Dentistry is proud of its record in preventing disease," said Dr. Feinberg. The U.S. in 2015 lowered the recommended amount of fluoride in drinking water supplies, from up to 1.2 milligrams per liter to 0.7 milligrams per liter… That’s a no-brainer.”. "It has now been 70 years since Grand Rapids, Michigan became the first US city to begin adding fluoride to its water system. Also, you can find out the number of people served by the system and the water source. Recent investigations have resulted in cities reducing the amount of fluoride they add. Maternal urine samples, however, also captured fluoride from dietary sources and dental products, providing a fuller picture of prenatal risk factors, Till says. The optimal level is the concentration of fluoride in drinking water that provides the optimal dental benefits while minimizing the risk of dental fluorosis. Today’s announcement is based on solid science.". The World Health Organization recommends that the optimum or safe fluoride level in drinking water should be: Less than 1mg/L in areas with a warm climate; Less than (up to) 1.2 mg/L in cooler climates. But it needs to be out there,” says Christakis, who is also a professor of pediatrics at the University of Washington. MWRA intends to keep an open-minded view, keep abreast … It is set to meet the current public health goal for protection against increased risk of crippling skeletal fluorosis, a condition characterized by pain and tenderness of the major joints. As you may be aware, most cities add fluoride to drinking water. A New Study Reignites a Long-Standing Debate. The researchers found that self-reported high-fluoride intake was associated with lower IQ scores in both boys and girls. This story has been updated to clarify study design. "Water fluoridation is effective and safe," said ADA President Dr. Maxine Feinberg. At high doses, fluoride can actually damage people’s teeth, according to the World Health Organization—and some research, much of it in animals, suggests it’s also tied to more serious side effects, including bone cancer and cognitive impairments. “We were well aware that this would probably be overplayed, and misplayed, in the public arena. The U.S. in 2015 lowered the recommended amount of fluoride in drinking water supplies, from up to 1.2 milligrams per liter to 0.7 milligrams per liter, mainly to cut down on potential damage to teeth. The U.S. began adding fluoride to some public water supplies in the 1940s, in an effort to strengthen teeth and prevent decay, and research on it has been accumulating in the subsequent decades. All Rights Reserved. I’m not advocating, on the basis of this study, that we should necessarily change public-policy—but I would minimize exposure to fluoride” during an individual pregnancy. Copyright © 2020 American Dental Association. Prior research in lab animals also suggests males are more susceptible to damage from fluoride, and other research suggests they are at higher risk of neurodevelopmental disorders such as ADHD, so it’s not entirely surprising that their IQ scores would be more closely linked to fluoride exposure, she adds. Write to Jamie Ducharme at jamie.ducharme@time.com. The maximum acceptable concentration (MAC) of fluoride ions in drinking water is 1.5 ppm.