Bottled water usage has become popular in recent years due to the concerns about the taste and purity of the tap water.
Due to the absence of fluoride in bottled water they affect the oral health and leads to dental decay. Thus by drinking bottled water, risk of dental cavities increases. Following article gives idea about the importance of fluoride and the affects caused by its absence in bottle water
Role of fluoride for healthy tooth
- Fluoride is a mineral which protects people from dental decay or tooth decay.
- It gets incorporated in to the teeth as they develop and make them resistant to decay which is essential for the development of adult teeth in children.
- It remineralizes the tooth surface by making the enamel strong and prevent cavities from forming.
- Fluoride is used for reversing the progression of cavities and prevent the need of dental treatments for restoration such as fillings.
- Water fluoridation is a cost effective measure available for reducing the incidence of tooth decay.
- Environmental protection agency (EPA) `determined that the concentration for fluorine in tap water should approximate to 0.7- 1.2 parts per million.
How bottled water (fluorine free) affects healthy teeth?
- Companies which make bottled water and filtration systems present in home either use reverse osmosis techniques or distillation unit for removing the impurities and sediments present in the water.
- Reverse osmosis is a process where it filters out some chemicals and minerals while distillation is the process which uses heat to steam the water from the impurities present in it.
- Finally the steam which is obtained is converted back to water and bottled for use.
- As of American dental association water should contain about 0.7-1.2 mg per liter of fluoride fro cavity protection but due tot he above process only 0.3 mg per liter of fluoride is present where an average man need 4 mg of fluoride per day.
Diets which add up fluoride to your body
- Commercially made foods and other beverages that are fluoride protected can be taken.
- Tooth pastes having fluoride and applied gels helps in strengthen the teeth by hardening the enamel surface.
- Dietary supplements having fluoride in forms like tablets, lozenges are made available only by prescription to children aged from 6 months to 16 years.
Drinking fluoride free bottled water increases the risk of dental cavities. Hence, one should be aware of the importance of fluoride to teeth which is commonly absent in bottled water and so the above data helps in understanding the affects of bottled water on your teeth.