Drinking water provided by the Mid-Peninsula Water District
is now fluoridated effective November 01, 2005.
Water Fluoridation
Fluoridation is a safe, effective, and economical way to improve dental health for the entire community.
Fluoride, one of the most plentiful elements on earth, occurs naturally in water supplies. When fluoride is present in drinking water at optimal levels, it has been shown to promote oral health by preventing tooth decay. Water fluoridation is the addition of small amounts of fluoride to a water supply to achieve a fluoride level that helps prevent tooth decay.
California's fluoridated drinking water act, Assembly Bill 733, became law in 1995, requiring water systems with 10,000 or more service connections to fluoridate once funding is available.
Fluoridation Information
• All drinking water naturally contains some fluoride. Community water fluoridation is the process of adjusting the naturally occurring fluoride level to the optimum level for preventing tooth decay.
• Adults, as well as children, benefit from drinking fluoridated water throughout their lives.
• More than half (62%) of the U.S. population lives in communities served by fluoridated water supplies.
• Community water fluoridation has the endorsement of every major health organization in the United States and many other countries, as well as every Surgeon General for the past 50 years.
• Every $1 spent on fluoridation saves $120 in dental treatment costs.
• Fluoridation will not change the taste, odor or appearance of your water.
Fluoridation Benefits People of All Ages
Drinking fluoridated water, as part of your diet, will provide about 60 percent of the protection necessary to fight against cavities. Fluoride works to strengthen tooth enamel so teeth become more resistant to decay, and it reverses newly formed cavities.
Optimal Fluoride Level
The San Francisco Public Utilities (SFPUC), a wholesale water provider to Mid-Peninsula Water District, will supplement naturally-occurring fluoride in the drinking water to meet the levels recommended by the California Department of Health Services (CDHS), 1.0 milligram of fluoride per liter of water (mg/L), or 1 part per million.
SFPUC has a CDHS approved fluoridation control range of 0.8 – 1.5 mg/L, with an optimal fluoride level of 1.0 mg/L.
Fluoridation Safety
Extensive research conducted over the past 50 years has shown that fluoridation of public water supplies is a safe and effective way to reduce tooth decay for all community residents.
The overall value and safety of community water fluoridation is endorsed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and by the U.S. Surgeon General. Community water fluoridation is endorsed by numerous public health and professional organizations, including the American Medical Association, the American Association of Public Health, U.S. Public Health Service, World Health Organization and the American Dental Association.
Dietary Fluoride Supplements
Health professionals advise that fluoride supplements, whether pills or drops, MUST be discontinued once water fluoridation begins. Drinking optimally fluoridated water on a regular basis makes the use of fluoride supplements unnecessary.
Communities Already Receiving Fluoridated Water
The SFPUC provides drinking water to approximately 2.4 million people in San Francisco and portions of Alameda, Santa Clara and San Mateo counties.
San Francisco residents and customers on the northern Peninsula have been receiving optimally fluoridated water since the early 1950s to promote dental health.
About 80 percent of the people in the SFPUC service area currently receive fluoridated water, either directly from the SFPUC or from one of several water districts or utilities that fluoridate independently. These include City of Hayward, Alameda County Water District, City of Mountain View, City of Palo Alto and Stanford University.
Approximately 400,000 additional people will benefit from optimally fluoridated water.
More Information
For information on fluoride in your drinking water, call 591-8941. For health-related information, contact your county department of public health at 372-8572. For general information on water fluoridation visit the SFPUC on line at www.sfwater.org/fluoride, or call 866-668-6008.
More information is available on the following web sites:
American Dental Association,
www.ada.org/public/topics/fluoride/facts
California Department of Health Services, www.dhs.ca.gov/ps/cdic/cdcb/Medicine/oralhealth/Fluoride/index.htm/
Centers for Disease Control,
www.cdc.gov/nohss/guideFL.htm
North Coast Fluoride Information Network,
www.fluorideinfo.org
Frequently Asked Questions
The Mid-Peninsula Water District began fluoridating drinking water effective November 01, 2005, when the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC) implemented system-wide fluoridation. The majority of communities served by SFPUC already received optimally fluoridated water. San Francisco and northern Peninsula communities have received fluoridated water for about 50 years.
Q. What is fluoride?
Fluoride is an abundant naturally occurring element found in rocks, soil and fresh and ocean water. Fluoride protects people of all ages against tooth decay. It makes teeth stronger and harder, so they last longer.
Q. Why fluoridate drinking water?
• When fluoride is present in drinking water at optimal levels, it has been shown to dramatically improve oral health by preventing tooth decay.
• The amount of natural fluoride in the SFPUC water sources is not enough to provide oral health benefits. Water fluoridation is the addition of small amounts of fluoride to a water supply to achieve the optimal fluoride level that helps prevent tooth decay.
• Fluoridated water benefits the entire community, children and adults of all ages, especially low-income and underserved populations.
• California law requires larger water distributors to fluoridate the water supply, as funding becomes available.
Q. What should I do now that fluoride is in the water?
You do not need to make any changes to your drinking water habits. Fluoride will not change the taste, smell, or appearance of your drinking water.
Health experts advise that if you are taking prescription fluoride supplements, either tablets or drops, you MUST stop when drinking fluoridated water.
Q. How much fluoride is added to my water?
The SFPUC supplements naturally occurring fluoride in your drinking water to meet the levels recommended by the California Department of Health Services (1 part per million, or 1.0 milligram of fluoride per liter of water). This level of concentration is recommended by the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
The chemical used by the SFPUC for water fluoridation is suitable for drinking water use. (It complies with the drinking water additives requirements Section 64700, Title 22 of California Code of Regulations and has been tested and certified as meeting the specifications of American National Standards Institute/National Sanitation Foundation Standard 60.)
Q. Can you give an example of "parts per million" (ppm)?
One drop of fluoride in one million drops, or 50 liters of water. Because there are 3.78 liters in a gallon, one part per million is also the same as one drop of a substance in about 13.2 gallons of water. It is also the same as one inch in 16 miles; one cent in $10,000; one ounce of salt out of 62,500 pounds; one ounce of oil out of 7,812.5 gallons.
Q. Is fluoride safe?
Fluoride in levels administered for drinking water is safe for humans and all animals.
Over 50 years of research and experience have shown that fluoridation at optimal levels is safe for people and the environment. Leading scientists and health professionals, numerous professional organizations and governments around the world support community water fluoridation.
Q. If I have a water filter, is it removing the fluoride?
To find out if fluoride is removed, check with the filter manufacturer. However, most water filters do not remove fluoride. The most effective way to remove fluoride from a household supply is by reverse osmosis filtering with up to 80 to 90 percent efficiency. Water distillation systems remove up to 100 percent of fluoride, and bottled water does not generally contain fluoride.
Q. What if my child has been receiving fluoride drops or tablets?
The California Department of Health Services and health professionals recommend that prescription fluoride supplements be stopped if your child lives or goes to school in a community that receives fluoridated water. Please check with the pediatrician or dentist who prescribed the supplements.
Q. What do health professionals say about fluoride?
Health experts endorse water fluoridation as the single, most effective public health measure to improve oral health. Through more than 50 years of extensive research, drinking fluoridated water has been scientifically proven to be safe and effective. The following organizations endorse water fluoridation as an important public health measure for reducing tooth decay.
The American Dental Association (ADA) endorsed fluoridation in 1950, and reaffirmed its endorsement in 1997.
The American Medical Association (AMA) endorsed fluoridation in 1950, and reaffirmed its endorsement in 1996.
The American Water Works Association (AWWA) endorsed fluoridation in 1976, and reaffirmed its endorsement in 1982.
The San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara and Alameda county public health departments have all endorsed the SFPUC water fluoridation program.
The California Department of Health Services has approved the SFPUC fluoridation program.
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