WAKEFIELD — The Massachusetts Water Resources Authority is lowering the amount of fluoride added to the water it supplies in accordance with a new recommendation from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC).
On April 27, the CDC released a recommendation that water suppliers reduce their fluoride dosage to 0.7 milligrams per liter (mg/l) from a range between 0.7 mg/l and 1.2 mg/l. According to the CDC, the dose is being lowered because Americans now receive fluoride from a variety of sources, other than just water and the dental benefits can be achieved with a lower dose in water.
“MWRA has been adding fluoride to the water for more than 30 years to reduce tooth decay and promote community public health,” said Fred Laskey, MWRA’s executive director. “Like most other water suppliers, we follow the recommendations of the CDC, as well as the World Health Organization and the American Dental Association. These are the public health experts and we look to them for guidance on this important issue.”
MWRA has adopted the new recommendation at its Carroll Water Treatment Plant, which serves 45 communities in eastern and metro west Massachusetts, including Boston.
In 1999, CDC published a report, “Ten Great Public Health Achievements — United States 1900-1999,” that listed fluoridation of public water supplies to reduce dental cavities as one of the leading public health achievements of the last century.
