Fluoridation has made significant contributions to public health. Low-level fluoride in drinking water sharply reduces dental cavity rates in children.  Fluoridation is endorsed by the American Dental Association, the American Water Works Association, and the American Medical Association. The Center for Disease Control declared it to be one of the 10 greatest advances in public health of the 20th century.

Lafayette’s water has been treated with fluoride since 1952. The levels are monitored regularly and vary between 0.59 to 1.16 parts per million (ppm). The Center for Disease Control established the optimal level for fluoride content in drinking water to be in the range of 0.7 ppm to 1.2 ppm. The US EPA has set the maximum acceptable level of fluoride at 4 ppm.

Trace amounts of fluoride, a negatively charged fluorine atom, occur naturally in water. Depending on the source, even bottled and mineral waters can contain varying levels of naturally-occurring fluoride. These low levels of fluoride pose no known health risk, though it does make water unsuitable for use in dialysis machines.

Health Risks? Not from Low-Level Exposure

The documented health risks associated with fluoride are caused by high-level exposure, not by the amounts found in treated drinking water. High levels of fluoride have been linked to dental and skeletal fluorosis.

For more information on fluoridation see the Colorado Department of Public Health's website.