Warning to Parents: ADA Recommends Fluoride-Free Water for Infants

Filed in archive Cases on November 13, 2006

Fluoridated water (or water with additional fluoride) should not be mixed into concentrated formula or foods intended for babies age 1 and younger to prevent tooth damage.

Such was the warning of the american dental association (ADA) to its members in its November 9 email alert (a pdf file).

Water already contains fluoride. However, 1 ppm (parts per million) or 1 (mg/L) milligram fluoride per liter of water is the optimal fluoride concentration that prevents tooth decay.

BUT, more fluoride (>1 ppm) in water worsens tooth decay in the same way that less than 1 ppm fluoride doesn't prevent tooth decay. Therefore, the old notion that ingesting more fluoride prevents tooth decay made a majority of public water suppliers to add fluoride chemicals into the water. Even bottled waters are now sold with added fluoride that comes with specific instructions to mix into baby formulas.

According to ADA (American Dental Association):

" ... infants could receive a greater than optimal amount of fluoride through liquid concentrate or powdered baby formula that has been mixed with water containing fluoride during a time that their developing teeth may be susceptible to enamel fluorosis."

Fluoride-free water is being recommended to infants by the American Dental Association.

Find more details from the press release.

Click for more info on Infants, Formula and Flouride.