In the 1940’s, water fluoridation officially started in the United States. While it is believed that water fluoridation does reduce tooth decay, there are many areas of the United States that don’t have fluoride added to their water.
In the same decade that water fluoridation commenced, people in non-fluoridated areas wondered how their children could reap the the benefits of fluoride if their water supply was not yet fluoridated.
Trials were performed in which dietary fluoride supplements were administered to children in order to determine if they could receive fluoride’s anti-cavity effects in pill form.
After this trial period, the American Dental Association (ADA) came up with the very first fluoride dosage schedule in 1958. In the years that followed, the American Academy of Pediatrics as well as the ADA had two separate fluoride dosage schedules. Unfortunately, many children started getting dental fluorosis, and as a result, the amount of recommended fluoride was gradually reduced. Finally, in 1994 the ADA and AAP finally agreed on the following schedule, which was reaffirmed in 2010.
Fluoride Supplement Dosage Schedule 
Do All Children Need Fluoride Supplements?
Even if your water does not contain fluoride, your child may not need fluoride supplements. The American Dental Association states that fluoride supplements are intended for use by children “living in non-fluoridated areas and at high risk of developing tooth decay.”
Your child’s dentist can help you determine how at-risk your child is for developing tooth decay. If your child is at low risk of developing cavities, then fluoride supplements are inappropriate whether or not your family’s drinking water is fluoridated.
While fluoride can help prevent cavities in high-risk children, it’s important to remember that cavities aren’t caused by a deficiency in fluoride.
Learn about what really causes cavities here.
Do you have any questions about fluoride supplements? Feel free to leave your questions and comments in the section below. Thanks for reading!
The answer is no — there is no evidence that taking fluoride supplements during pregnancy helps improve the baby’s chances of having healthier teeth.
Crystal Geyser brand Contains Anywhere from 0.088 to 0.74 ppm fluoride depending on which of their six bottling plants the spring water comes from according to the 
It’s been a long week, and I’m excited for the weekend! Two more weeks until the end of the semester, then we’re going to go exploring to find a place where we’ll end up after dental school.
The theory goes along these lines:
Hopefully you enjoyed the articles this week. If not, don’t worry! I’ll be back into my regular oral health writing routine next week.
Some of the arguments of anti-fluoridationists are very extreme and therefore seem like they are not based in truth. I think that when people hear outlandish arguments alleging fluoride to be a giant conspiracy, they don’t take the anti-fluoridationists very seriously. Because of this, I think that the many sound arguments against water fluoridation that do exist are never fully considered by the general population.
I’ve felt caught in the middle. In my dental school we are bombarded with presentations on the benefits of water fluoridation and much of academia doesn’t seem to acknowledge that there are good arguments on both sides of the water fluoridation debate.
In 1962, the United 
There are three main types of fluoride used to fluoridate public water supplies in the United States: sodium fluoride, sodium fluorosilicate, and fluorosilicic acid. Here’s a quick overview of each of those materials:
A prominent dentist caught wind of McKay’s observations and came out to Colorado to write about them. They even took a picture of themselves analyzing the teeth of a young 
In her editorial she brings up two scientific sources, one from the American Dental Association and one from the Centers for Disease Control. She acts like both of these sources have “admitted” that water fluoridation isn’t effective. I took a look at both of these articles, and here’s what I found.
Dr. Featherstone also suggested that we “exploit [fluoride’s] known effects on bacteria, inhibition of demineralization and enhancement of remineralization by using ‘topical’ fluoride delivery by means of dental products, drinking water, beverages and foods.”
You may think that you never boil water. However, many people use water for cooking. If you’ve made macaroni & cheese or another pasta, rice, oatmeal, or mashed potatoes lately, then you’ve probably boiled water.
Let’s say that you run a test to find out 
I figured that Colorado couldn’t be the only place on earth with high levels of fluoride — and that turns out to be true. There are several areas in the world where fluoride can naturally be found in the water supply.
Method #1: Visit a website. If your municipality provides your tap water, then you’re in luck because there’s a simple site to find out your water fluoride concentration that the Center for Disease Control has made.
