The loss of an important fluoride source:

As more Americans turn to bottled water, they may be turning their backs on tap water as an important fluoride source.  Per capita consumption of bottled water is at over 11 gallons per year!  Some brands have no fluoride, some have natural fluoride, some have added fluoride.  But, since Food and Drug Administration regulations do not require bottles to be labeled with their fluoride content, it is difficult for dentist to judge their patients' total fluoride consumption.

Ask yourself these questions:

• Am I in a town with a fluoridated water supply?  Medfield's water supply is not fluoridated.
• What is the source of my home drinking water and is it fluoridated?
• Are my children currently taking a fluoride supplement?

We are happy to counsel you as to optimal fluoride intake for yourself and your family.

Also of interest:

FROM NEWSWEEK: July 2, 2007
By Karen Breslau

Nothing irks Salt Lake City Mayor Ross Anderson more than seeing people tote water in plastic bottles.  In fact, he argues, his city has some of the best tap water in the country.  Several months ago, Anderson instructed department heads to stop buying bottled water for the city's 2.200 workers and provide coolers and fountains instead.  "For a long time, I've viewed [bottled water] as a huge marketing scam," he says.

Considering that Americans chug more than 30 billion single-serving bottles of water a year, Anderson's campaign is at most a drop in the you-know-what.  But there are signs of a push to bring back the tap, led by mayors who want to cut down on global warming.  Anderson is urging the U.S. Conference of Mayors to promote tap water as a way to limit greenhouse-gas emissions.  In San Francisco,  residents who sign an online pledge not to buy plastic water bottles get a free stainless-steel water container.  Some cities, aware that companies filter and sell municipal tap water under exotic names (Coca-Cola's Dasani, PepsiCo's Aquafina), are looking to bottle it themselves and use the profits for recycling programs...

FROM NEWSWEEK: Web exclusive:
By Karen Breslau

Updated: 7:30 p.m. ET June 23, 2007

June 22, 2007 - When San Francisco recently banned the use of plastic grocery bags as part of its campaign to fight global warming, the city drew international attention. Now, plastic water bottles are in the cross hairs. This week, San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom signed an executive order banning the use of city funds to purchase single-serving plastic water bottles. The order also prohibits the sale of such water containers on city-owned property. The move is part of a campaign by the city to boost the environmental awareness of its already-green citizens by getting them to use tap water instead of bottled water—and cut down on the acres of plastic generated in the process.

NEWSWEEK:

Salt Lake City has also banned bottled water for its employees. Why are cities taking the lead in persuading people to stop buying bottled water?
By Gavin Newsom

The transportation and distribution, developing the plastic for the water bottles, the cost of the water, has a huge environmental and economic impact. As a consequence of the prolific growth in bottled waters, we in the city feel we have a responsibility to address its cost and its environmental impact. We are looking to eliminate completely all of bottled water consumption supported by city money but also to begin an educational campaign to convey the real cost of bottled water, transported half way around the world. We are looking at a marketing campaign showing bottled water compared to a barrel of oil, that shows it takes far more energy to transport the water than the oil.