What’s the deal with bottled water? It doesn’t have Fluoride in it...
Bottled water has been hailed as a subtle change that allows easy access to purified drinking water. This has led many families to turn off the tap while opting instead to purchase their water in convenient bottles made for on-the-go use.
Unbeknown to many consumers, particularly those who have small children or those already at risk of tooth decay and other oral diseases, bottled water presents a hazard due to the fact that it's missing one crucial ingredient that teeth need to stay healthy: fluoride.
Why Do People Choose Bottled Water?
The main marketing principle of most bottled water is that it lacks the many contaminants that tap water has. Supposedly superior filtration processes and purer sources of water make it so people don't have to worry about things like excessive chlorine or other contaminants that can make water taste unpalatable.
Bottled water also exists as an alternative for people who live in areas where municipal water systems are either unable to supply the amount of water an individual needs or they lack the highly sophisticated filtration systems that many municipalities presently use.
The Big Problem With Bottled Water
While bottled water may taste better or be a more viable option for people in certain areas where modernized water utilities aren't available in surplus, it also lacks the necessary amount of fluoride needed to help growing and for weak teeth to become stronger. This can cause teeth to become brittle and cavity-prone.
The reason that bottled water lacks fluoride concerns the way that it's treated. The filtration processes that bottled water often undergoes eliminates molecules besides water and certain other trace elements from the water that then gets put inside plastic bottles.
Though these filtration processes are often similar and more effective than those that local municipalities employ, they inevitably save money by foregoing the crucial step that most local water treatment plants have opted to do. In other words, they don't add the fluoride back into the water.
Why is Fluoride so Important to Teeth?
Fluoride is most commonly available in the form of sodium fluoride. This simple, common chemical allows for teeth to do the following:
Remineralize – Acid is a natural byproduct of the mastication process. It works to tear away things like calcium from the surface of teeth, which leaves them weak and allows them to decay over time. Fluoride promotes remineralization, which is what reverses the damage done by acid.
Protection Against Demineralization – Fluoride can reinforce teeth and make it harder for acids from food and those created as a byproduct by naturally occurring bacteria to damage the dentin of teeth.
This means that children with developing teeth, people who have weak teeth, disorders affecting the teeth or less access to orthodontists need to have a source of fluoride. It's a vital ingredient that works to ensure that your teeth have just as long and as healthy of a life as you.
Worried About Your Teeth?
If you're worried about a lack of fluoride or any other issues affecting your teeth, then it's advisable that you seek out an orthodontist like Dr. Matt Beecroft at Beecroft Orthodontics. He is a specialist in orthodontics, which means that he offers more services than a general dentist does, like providing patients with different types of braces.
Beecroft Orthodontics, 10472 Georgetown Dr. Fredericksburg, Virginia
Phone: 540-898-2200
Tap Water vs. Bottled Water