When it comes to bottled water, the decision to add or not to add fluoride, a salt formed from the combination of fluorine and soil and rock minerals, is left entirely up to individual manufacturers. Most do not.
Some experts say that turning away from tap water to bottled water means more cavities and worse dental hygiene. Concerns are most acute when it comes to children, says Dr Burton Edelstein, president of the Children's Dental Health Project in Washington, DC. Children he sees "have visually evident tooth decay experience."
Maine, USA-based paediatric dentist Dr Jonathan Shenkin said that consumers would have a hard time finding out if a product contained fluoride, and even if it did, whether the amount was significant. Fluoridated tap water is now believed to reduce the risk of tooth decay by about 25%, and that no research has effectively discounted the possible connection between non-fluoridated bottled water consumption and a rise in tooth decay risk, Health24 reports.
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