Most people associate fluoride with the practice of intentionally adding fluoride to public drinking water supplies for the prevention of tooth decay. However, fluoride can also enter public water systems from natural sources, including runoff from the weathering of fluoride-containing rocks and soils and leaching from soil into groundwater. Fluoride pollution from various industrial emissions can also contaminate water supplies. In a few areas of the United States fluoride concentrations in water are much higher than normal, mostly from natural sources. Fluoride is one of the drinking water contaminants regulated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) because it can occur at these toxic levels. In 1986, the EPA established a maximum allowable concentration for fluoride in drinking water of 4 milligrams per liter, a guideline designed to prevent the public from being exposed to harmful levels of fluoride. Fluoride in Drinking Water reviews research on various health effects from exposure to fluoride, including studies conducted in the last 10 years.

Explore the Health Effects of Fluoride PollutionFluoride in Drinking Water: Status, Issues, and Solutions establishes the negative impacts of naturally occurring fluoride on human health and considers the depth and scope of fluoride pollution on an international scale. The book discusses current global water quality and fluoride-related issues and

"Dental fluorosis refers to changes in the appearance of tooth enamel that are caused by long-term ingestion of fluoride during the time teeth are forming. Studies conducted in the 1930s showed that the severity of tooth decay was lower and dental fluorosis was higher in areas with more fluoride in the drinking water. In response to these findings, community water fluoridation programs were developed to add fluoride to drinking water to reach an optimal level for preventing tooth decay, while limiting the chance of developing dental fluorosis. By the 1980s, studies in selected U.S. communities reported an increase in dental fluorosis, paralleling the expansion of water fluoridation and the increased availability of other sources of ingested fluoride, such as fluoride toothpaste (if swallowed) and fluoride supplements. This report describes the prevalence of dental fluorosis in the United States and changes in the prevalence and severity of dental fluorosis among adolescents between 1986-1987 and 1999-2004. Data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 1999-2004 and the 1986-1987 National Survey of Oral Health in U.S. School Children." - p. 1.

In the case of water fluoridation, the chemicals used to fluoridate the water that more than 180 million people drink each day are not pharmaceutical grade, but rather hazardous waste products of the phosphate fertilizer industry; it is illegal to dump them into rivers and lakes or release them into the atmosphere. And water fluoridation is a prime example of one of the worst medical practices possible-forced medication with no control over the dose or who gets it. Perhaps most shocking of all, it is not subject to any federal regulation. At once painstakingly-documented and also highly-readable, The Case Against Fluoride brings new research to light, including links between fluoride and harm to the brain, bones, and kidneys, and argues that while there is possible value in topical applications like brushing your teeth with fluoride toothpaste, the evidence that swallowing fluoride reduces tooth decay is surprisingly weak.

A comprehensive review and evaluation of the public health benefits and risks of fluoride in drinking water and other sources. Covers: properties, metabolism and sources of fluoride; health benefit assessment of fluoride; health risk assessment of fluoride; findings and conclusions; and recommendations. Extensive bibliography. Includes 8 appendices: surveys of dental fluoride prevalence, 1939-1987; osteosarcoma; gentoxicity of fluoride, and much more.

Abstract: This publication discusses salt flouridation as a means of preventing dental caries. The state of dental health in the Americas is reviewed and the results of two conferences on salt flouridation are examined. Topics include: salt flouridation in various countries; epidemiologic nutritional, and metabolic aspects of salt flouridation; sociopolitical, economic, and educational aspects of salt flouridation; and monitoring, supervision, and safety of salt flouridation.