Is bottled water hurting your teeth? – Tennessee Family Dental

bottled water
Is bottled water bad for your teeth?

Between the cost, impact on the environment, and chemicals found in plastic bottles, bottled water has gained a bad reputation. Now it seems there’s another reason to avoid bottled water. Bottled water may be harming teeth. Talk to your child’s dentist about how best to protect the health of your child’s teeth. For a dentist located in Nippers Corner shopping center in Nashville, Tennessee, contact Dr. Ryan O’Neill.

Bottled water, unlike the tap water in most U.S. towns and cities, does not contain flouride. Studies estimate that drinking flouridated tap water reduces tooth decay by anywhere from 18-40%. Dentists report an increase in toothaches and cavities in children who drink bottled water over tap water. It is estimated that by five years old, nearly half of all children in the United States show evidence of tooth decay. Even as young as two, as many as one in ten children have decay. Dentists often recommend flouride toothpastes, rinses, and supplements. These things do help, but aren’t always enough. Flouridated water can fill that gap.

In 2009 more than 8 billion gallons of bottled water were sold in the United States. That’s more than 25 gallons of unflouridated water for every man, woman and child in the country that year. Many people who drink bottled water do so because of concerns over the safety of city water. The fact is there are many more regulations governing city water than bottled water and it is tested regularly for presence of contaminants and the results are usually public record. Not so with bottled water. Bottled water is subject to fewer regulations regarding safety, may not be tested with the same frequency as city water and the results of testing may not be available to the public. In fact, independent testing of ten different brands conducted in 2008 revealed 38 different contaminants. Many parents think they are protecting their children by giving them bottled water instead of tap water when in reality they are only increasing their children’s risk of cavities. If you would like more info or would like to take advantage of our new patient special, contact Tennessee Family Dental today!

Bottled Water, Fluoride, Tooth Decay

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