Bottled Water May Boost Kids’ Tooth Decay, Dentists Say
By: JoNel Aleccia
Published on March 21st, 2012 on msnbc.com
Picture: This picture shows the results from tests that scientists did on several different brands of water. The numbers show the fluoride amounts that each bottle contains.
http://www.oralanswers.com/2011/08/bottled-water-fluoride/
http://www.oralanswers.com/2011/08/bottled-water-fluoride/
Summary: Dentists are finding that kids are starting to get cavities at very young ages. One of the main causes to this problem is the drinking of bottled water. Children need to provide their teeth with fluoride, so their teeth can become strong. Children should go to the dentist twice a year to receive a fluoride treatment, should brush their teeth with toothpaste containing fluoride and should also be receiving fluoride in the water that they drink. The problem with bottled water is the fluoride level. There is little or no fluoride in bottled water, while tap water has fluoride it in that can provide the needs of children’s teeth. The more bottled water a child drinks, the less fluoride the child will receive. Research also found that more than 65% of parents who give their children bottled water, do not know of the low levels of fluoride that it contains. Since so many parents are not aware of the problem with bottled water, more kids are getting cavities and are showing signs of tooth decay. The problem tends to be worse for kids in minority families because parents are more worried about the tap water being safe to drink. If parents think that their tap water is not safe for their children, then they will give their children bottled water. Since more kids in minority families are drinking bottled water, more of those kids are getting cavities. It also happens often in wealthy families because bottled water is expensive, so if the family has the money to buy bottled water and sports drinks, that contain sugar and no fluoride, the children will have high levels of tooth decay. Tooth decay and cavities can happen at a young age if children are not getting enough fluoride, so to help prevent unhealthy teeth children need to start drinking tap water, instead of bottled water when they are very young.
Opinion: I found this article very cool and interesting. I knew that bottled water was bad for the environment, but never knew that it could cause cavities and teeth decay. Bottled water is just not good all around. Overall, tap water is healthier and better for the environment. I know I drink at least two bottled waters a day. This article made me scared for the health of my teeth. I am going to start drinking tap water out of plastic water bottles. More people need to be informed of this problem, so that the cavity rate in children decreases. I was also surprised that the problem tends to occur more in kids in minority families and kids in wealthy families. I never would have thought of that, but the article makes a very valid point. This connects to my life because my whole family drinks bottled water. All of the children in my family play sports and before we head to practice we grab a bottle of water. I will try to switch my family to tap water, because my siblings are young and I do not want them to get cavities because they are not getting enough fluoride from the bottled water that we drink.
Questions:
1. Do you drink bottled water or tap water? If you drink bottled water, will you switch to tap water after reading this article? Why or why not?
2. How much fluoride does a teen your age need, to have healthy teeth? How much of that fluoride should come from water?
3. Why doesn’t bottled water have enough fluoride to provide the needs of healthy teeth, in it?
4. Can we increase the amount of fluoride in bottled water? How?
One of the most important things that you can do to prevent cavities is to go to your local dentist for your regular check up. You should go to dentist at least twice a year. And you should take radio-graph at least once a year. This radio-graph helps dentist to determine if you have cavities between your teeth.
ReplyDeleteThis article is very interesting, and i am actually very surprised after reading it. I never knew or even thought about the impacts of water on a kids teeth. I had no idea at all that water contained fluoride. We always learned and heard that tap water is contaminated and very bad for our health to a certain extent, and that we should not be drinking water straight from the sink. Now, it seems like bottled water is even more of an issue than tap water, and it is making it seem like drinking tap water is way better and healthier. I don't quite understand why there isn't the same amount of fluoride in the water bottles, like why water bottle companies take out helpful nutrients? I agree with Julia, and can make about the same closely impacted connection to my own life. All of my family and friends drink bottled water and I do myself, but now i'm questioning if i should just stop drinking bottled water and switch to tap water. I honestly don't prefer either option now after having knowledge on the impacts of both, and i would rather prefer to drink water maybe that is purified in a filter. Now that I have heard once again another harmful impact of bottled water, I am concerned about people who only drink bottled water. I never realized that the increasing number in cavities in children had anything whatsoever to do with drinking bottled water. I wonder if there would be any possible way to have the bottled waters have a greater amount of fluoride in them, and again if companies would be able to go through the process. We just had a lab in class where we tested different substances in our tap water, and now I'm really interested in trying to compare the level of fluoride in the tap water and the bottled water I drink. After going through this article and combining everything I know about the harmful effects of both tap and bottled water, I would say that tap water is still healthier than drinking bottled water.
ReplyDeleteExpansion
http://kidshealth.org/parent/growth/feeding/fluoride_water.html#
The link above is a site that provides a ton of information on fluoride itself, fluoride and water supply and kids fluoride needs. It states facts about the purposes and impacts of fluoride like helping to prevent early tooth decay, and it states the age ranges and the number of people in the group that were impacted by cavities. In this site you can see different percentages of fluoride found in tap water, and how water bottles lack the content of high fluoride levels. It also states how you can tell if a water bottle has been fluoridated. You can on this website the whole controversy of fluoride as well. You can also see the different amounts of fluoride needed for different aged children. Another factor talked about is the overexposure of fluoride and its impacts. Basically, this site has many various aspects of facts ranging from the basic uses to the controversy, to the issue of fluoride in water.
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3031/2694075365_55d4a00f34_z.jpg
DeleteThis is a link of a picture of what a water bottle that has been fluoridated would state.
Opinion: Before reading this article, I never knew drinking water from a bottle was harmful to children’s teeth. I always thought that water was water, and drinking it would not do any harm to your body. I really enjoyed reading this article though, because it gave me some insight to bottled water. I never even knew water contained fluoride. I think somebody should tell families about this, as many of them might not know that harmful affects of water without fluoride. I used to hear all the time of water bottles containing fluoride, and if this lack of fluoride is such a big issue, why doesn’t all water contain fluoride now? Since I was very young, I always drank water from bottles. I do not remember ever drinking from the tap, since my parents always asked me not to. However, now that I know about this issue, I might try to drink from the tap more often. I used to get cavities a lot as a kid, and I am starting to wonder if it was from me drinking bottled water.
ReplyDeleteQuestions:
1) Does bottled water containing fluoride (like the ones targeted mainly towards babies and children) help prevent cavities, but still allow children to drink bottled water?
2) Why can’t fluoride be added to all bottled water? Are there any harmful affects of fluoride that make water bottle companies hesitant towards adding fluoride to their water?
3) Why is fluoride so essential to the teeth of humans that even if we do not drink water containing it we can get cavities?
Opinion: Wow, before I read this article I never knew how bad bottle water really was to your health. I always have heard that it is bad for the enviroment because of the plastic it wastes, but never causing major health issues. This is a really good article for anyone to read because it gives good insight on the effects of bottled water. Parents of any age children should really read this for their kids health as they get older. Even though most bottled water does contain some fluoride, it does not contain the amount needed for kids. I tend to drink a lot of bottled water due to playing sports year around, and I get lazy about filling up reusable water bottles. But from now on I will take this article into consideration before I reach for bottled water over tap water.
ReplyDeleteQuestions
1. If more fluoride was added to all bottled water, is it likely that the number of cavities would go down in children?
2. Is fluoride added to any other type of drink or substance that we injest? If so, what?
3. How come all bottled water companies do not add fluoride to their water? Does it cost more to add the fluoride?
Fluoride in the water has been an ongoing debate for over 50 years. Some municipalities in pennsylvania do not have fluoride in their water. There has been fluoride vitamins for children when they live in one of those counties. As a dentist if children are not drinking fluoridated water and not using a vitamin substitute, than I think cavities would go down if they were drinking a bottled water with fluoride. Fluoride does exist in foods. I believe it would cost more to add it to bottled water
ReplyDeleteNorman J Graulich DMD