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Digital News Report – The government says that some municipalities can and should lower the levels of fluoride in their water. This may be good news for residents in Santa Cruz County and Watsonville in particular. Last year residents of Watsonville expressed their concerns with fluorination.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) says that fluorination is still important for “good dental health”, but children may be “receiving too much fluoride”.
The latest scientific research by the National Academies of Science (NAS) indicates that children are receiving too much of the chemical. This is causing dental fluorosis in children 8-years-old and younger. There was no mention of skeletal fluorosis.
Fluorosis damages the enamel. The severity of the problem is directly related to the amount of fluoride the child is exposed to. The EPA acknowledges that there are more sources of fluoride today than there was in the 1940s when the substance was first put in water supplies.
“HHS (Health and Human Services) proposed recommendation of 0.7 milligrams of fluoride per liter of water replaces the current recommended range of 0.7 to 1.2 milligrams”, the EPA said in a statement.
By Mark Williams