U.S. Water News Online
WASHINGTON -- Companies can claim that drinking bottled water with fluoride prevents cavities, the federal government has said.
The Food and Drug Administration said in a notice dated Oct. 14 that it would allow bottlers of fluoridated water to make the health claim. The notice was posted on the FDA Web site.
The claim -- specifically, that fluoridated water may reduce the risk of dental cavities or tooth decay -- is not intended for use on bottled water marketed to infants, the FDA said.
Many bottled waters already contain fluoride, and by law are labeled as such. About two-thirds of the U.S. population that relies on public water systems gets fluoridated water from the tap.
The surge in popularity of bottled water has led dentists and others to fear that people, especially children, who avoid tap water and drink exclusively unfluoridated bottled water face a greater risk of developing cavities.
Fluoride can prevent, slow and in some cases reverse tooth decay. People who live in communities with fluoridated drinking systems have 15 percent to 40 percent less decay, according to the surgeon general.
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