We’ll keep it simple for our first fact for Fluoride Fact Friday:
One important source of fluoride in earth’s fluoride cycle is volcanoes!
Another fact for the day … Fluoride is the only substance that has both an MCL and SMCL in EPA’s drinking water treatment standards and guidelines. What’s MCL and SMCL, you ask?
MCLs are mandated upper limits for constituents in drinking water in order to protect human health. The fluoride MCL – 4 ppm – is a required upper limit on fluoride in drinking water to make sure that Americans don’t get skeletal fluorosis from water. SMCLs are recommended upper limits on consituents in drinking water in order to address cosmetic effects for people or aesthetic issues with water, such as taste or odor. The fluoride SMCL – 2 ppm – is recommended because it protects kids from getting severe enamel fluorosis. It’s all part of the science to make sure we don’t get too much or too little fluoride.
A third and final fact for the day comes from research in Australia …
A study in 2019 found that fluoride reduces risk from minimal and extended breastfeeding. Findings in the Journal of Dental Research found that “Minimal breastfeeding (no breastfeeding or breastfeeding for less than one month) and extended breastfeeding beyond 24 months were both associated with increased dental cavities. But these effects were lessened if children were exposed to fluoridated water.”