Should I use bottled baby water to make formula, to avoid dental fluorosis?

I have a 4-week old who is exclusively formula-fed. I've just learnt
that infants up to six months should ideally not consume any fluoride
in order to avoid fluorosis. We've been using Brita-filtered water to
make up his formula until now, and occasionally Poland Spring bottled
water. I can't figure out if he's getting too much fluoride right now
and if we should buy special bottled baby water instead. What is the
recommendation on this?

"Lady Penelope Creighton-Ward"
wrote in
ups.com:

I have a 4-week old who is exclusively formula-fed. I've
just learnt that infants up to six months should ideally
not consume any fluoride in order to avoid fluorosis.
We've been using Brita-filtered water to make up his
formula until now, and occasionally Poland Spring bottled
water. I can't figure out if he's getting too much
fluoride right now and if we should buy special bottled
baby water instead. What is the recommendation on this?

unless you buy the floridated Poland Springs, there's no
floride in it (i've only seen their floride water in the half-
pints & an ad for 5 gallon cooler bottles).
the bottled baby water is simply filtered tap water sold for
a very high price, so if the munincipality that it's bottled
in has floride, the bottled stuff probably does too.
does your tap water have floride added? if it doesn't, use
that. it's the least expensive solution. otherwise, if you
want to avoid floride, use regular Poland Springs or Belmont
Springs or whatever.
lee

On Apr 9, 10:30 am, "Lady Penelope Creighton-Ward"
wrote:
I have a 4-week old who is exclusively formula-fed. I've just learnt
that infants up to six months should ideally not consume any fluoride
in order to avoid fluorosis. We've been using Brita-filtered water to
make up his formula until now, and occasionally Poland Spring bottled
water. I can't figure out if he's getting too much fluoride right now
and if we should buy special bottled baby water instead. What is the
recommendation on this?

The Brita does not claim to filter out fluoride. In order to find out
how much fluoride is in your water, you need to check with your local
water department or have your well tested. Fluoride levels in
drinking water vary quite a bit around the US.

--Betsy

On Apr 9, 1:45 pm, enigma wrote:
"Lady Penelope Creighton-Ward"
wrote roups.com:

I have a 4-week old who is exclusively formula-fed. I've
just learnt that infants up to six months should ideally
not consume any fluoride in order to avoid fluorosis.
We've been using Brita-filtered water to make up his
formula until now, and occasionally Poland Spring bottled
water. I can't figure out if he's getting too much
fluoride right now and if we should buy special bottled
baby water instead. What is the recommendation on this?

unless you buy the floridated Poland Springs, there's no
floride in it (i've only seen their floride water in the half-
pints & an ad for 5 gallon cooler bottles).
the bottled baby water is simply filtered tap water sold for
a very high price, so if the munincipality that it's bottled
in has floride, the bottled stuff probably does too.
does your tap water have floride added? if it doesn't, use
that. it's the least expensive solution. otherwise, if you
want to avoid floride, use regular Poland Springs or Belmont
Springs or whatever.
lee

Thanks for your quick reply. I actually checked the mineral content
of Poland Spring and there does seem to be a minute amount of fluoride
in it (0.052-0.20 mg/L) according to the manufacturer's website:

http://www.polandspring.com/KnowH2O/OurSources.aspx

My tap water is fluoridated according to the CDC website where you can
check your municipality's fluoridation level:

http://apps.nccd.cdc.gov/MWF/index.asp

Ours is adjusted to 1.0 mg/L. The baby gets 960ml/day at 8 feeds of 4
oz each. That means he nearly gets 1 whole milligram per day. And
this chart referenced on the Wikipedia from the American Dental
Association implies that's above the upper limit allowed:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dental_fluorosis

If we use Poland Spring, the baby will still be getting some fluoride
exposure. I must look into alternative water sources.

On Apr 9, 2:28 pm, "Lady Penelope Creighton-Ward"
wrote:
On Apr 9, 1:45 pm, enigma wrote:





"Lady Penelope Creighton-Ward"
wrote roups.com:

I have a 4-week old who is exclusively formula-fed. I've
just learnt that infants up to six months should ideally
not consume any fluoride in order to avoid fluorosis.
We've been using Brita-filtered water to make up his
formula until now, and occasionally Poland Spring bottled
water. I can't figure out if he's getting too much
fluoride right now and if we should buy special bottled
baby water instead. What is the recommendation on this?

unless you buy the floridated Poland Springs, there's no
floride in it (i've only seen their floride water in the half-
pints & an ad for 5 gallon cooler bottles).
the bottled baby water is simply filtered tap water sold for
a very high price, so if the munincipality that it's bottled
in has floride, the bottled stuff probably does too.
does your tap water have floride added? if it doesn't, use
that. it's the least expensive solution. otherwise, if you
want to avoid floride, use regular Poland Springs or Belmont
Springs or whatever.
lee

Thanks for your quick reply. I actually checked the mineral content
of Poland Spring and there does seem to be a minute amount of fluoride
in it (0.052-0.20 mg/L) according to the manufacturer's website:

http://www.polandspring.com/KnowH2O/OurSources.aspx

My tap water is fluoridated according to the CDC website where you can
check your municipality's fluoridation level:

http://apps.nccd.cdc.gov/MWF/index.asp

Ours is adjusted to 1.0 mg/L. The baby gets 960ml/day at 8 feeds of 4
oz each. That means he nearly gets 1 whole milligram per day. And
this chart referenced on the Wikipedia from the American Dental
Association implies that's above the upper limit allowed:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dental_fluorosis

If we use Poland Spring, the baby will still be getting some fluoride
exposure. I must look into alternative water sources.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Just spoke with the pediatrician and he confirms we shouldn't use tap
water since it's fluoridated. He recommends using a filter to remove
the fluoride, or using distilled water (any minerals the baby needs
would already be in the formula). Scary that nobody ever warned us
about this.

"betsy" wrote:

On Apr 9, 10:30 am, "Lady Penelope Creighton-Ward"
wrote:
I have a 4-week old who is exclusively formula-fed. I've just learnt
that infants up to six months should ideally not consume any fluoride
in order to avoid fluorosis. We've been using Brita-filtered water to
make up his formula until now, and occasionally Poland Spring bottled
water. I can't figure out if he's getting too much fluoride right now
and if we should buy special bottled baby water instead. What is the
recommendation on this?

The Brita does not claim to filter out fluoride. In order to find out
how much fluoride is in your water, you need to check with your local
water department or have your well tested. Fluoride levels in
drinking water vary quite a bit around the US.

My dad grew up in the mountains of Colorado and never had a cavity in
his teeth until he was at least 30 years old. The water there has a
high natural fluoride content. Probably much higher than is now
recommended. Of course, since he was born in 1904, I doubt that he
was bottle fed to any extent.

On Apr 9, 6:26 pm, Rosalie B. wrote:
"betsy" wrote:
On Apr 9, 10:30 am, "Lady Penelope Creighton-Ward"
wrote:
I have a 4-week old who is exclusively formula-fed. I've just learnt
that infants up to six months should ideally not consume any fluoride
in order to avoid fluorosis. We've been using Brita-filtered water to
make up his formula until now, and occasionally Poland Spring bottled
water. I can't figure out if he's getting too much fluoride right now
and if we should buy special bottled baby water instead. What is the
recommendation on this?

The Brita does not claim to filter out fluoride. In order to find out
how much fluoride is in your water, you need to check with your local
water department or have your well tested. Fluoride levels in
drinking water vary quite a bit around the US.

My dad grew up in the mountains of Colorado and never had a cavity in
his teeth until he was at least 30 years old. The water there has a
high natural fluoride content. Probably much higher than is now
recommended. Of course, since he was born in 1904, I doubt that he
was bottle fed to any extent.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Apparently the source of the fluoride is also at issue - natural being
less harmful if not at all...

In article . com,
"Lady Penelope Creighton-Ward" wrote:

I have a 4-week old who is exclusively formula-fed. I've just learnt
that infants up to six months should ideally not consume any fluoride
in order to avoid fluorosis.

From whom? There is some scare-mongering going on out there.

Our health authority says you should not use ordinary toothpaste with children
under 5 if the water supply is fluoridated-- use a low-fluoride one. I just
don't give them toothpaste until they are of an age to spit, and then provide
only a tiny amount.

--
Chookie -- Sydney, Australia
(Replace "foulspambegone" with "optushome" to reply)

"Parenthood is like the modern stone washing process for denim jeans. You may
start out crisp, neat and tough, but you end up pale, limp and wrinkled."
Kerry Cue

In article . com,
"Lady Penelope Creighton-Ward" wrote:

Apparently the source of the fluoride is also at issue - natural being
less harmful if not at all...

My crapometer just went off. No doubt some compounds of fluorine are more
harmful to the body than others, but why would these be the "natural" ones?
It's like saying that burns from a bushfire are better than burns from a gas
stove.

--
Chookie -- Sydney, Australia
(Replace "foulspambegone" with "optushome" to reply)

"Parenthood is like the modern stone washing process for denim jeans. You may
start out crisp, neat and tough, but you end up pale, limp and wrinkled."
Kerry Cue

The American Dental Association and the Centers for Disease Control
caution that fluoridated water should not be mixed into concentrated
infant formula up to one year of age. Many studies have indicated that
formula fed babies have more dental fluorosis - white spotted, yellow,
brown and/or pitted enamel. See:
http://groups.google.com/group/Fluor...723141c5879aba

Also the CDC tell us that ingested fluoride confers no benefits as
fluoride absorbs into tooth enamel by topical means alone. When
fluoridation began dentists THOUGHT fluoride ingestion was required
for fluoride to get into tooth enamel. Modern science has disproved
that theory. However, fluoride's adverse effects to teeth, bones,
thyroid, brain, etc. are via ingestion

Those for and against fluoridation agree on one thing - that too much
fluoride is a bad thing. However, fluoride proponents can't define
what the safe level is and tell you how much fluoride is in the foods
you eat and the air you breathe.

The Institute of Medicine tells us that babies up to six months old
should not ingest over .0l mg/L of fluoride in order to avoid getting
moderate dental fluorosis (yellow teeth). There's so much fluoride in
the food supply, that it's almost impossible to ingest this low
amount. So, in our opinion, it would be wise to avoid any obvious
fluoride sources.

Besides fluoride is neither a nutrient nor required for healthy teeth.

The fluoride that's in your water supply is a by-product of phosphate
fertilizer manufacturing. it contains trace amounts of lead, arsenic
and other contaminants. It is not purified before it's dumped into the
public water supply.

Studies have shown that children living in silicofluoridated
communities have higher blood lead levels than children living in non-
fluoridated areas. Higher blood lead levels, besides many ill health
effects, is linked to more cavities.

This might be contributing to the tooth decay crises occurring in
most, if not all, of our fluoridated cities and states.

For more info:

Fluoridation 101
http://www.orgsites.com/ny/nyscof

Fluoridation News Releases
http://tinyurl.com/6kqtu

Tooth Decay Crises in Fluoridated Areas
http://www.fluoridenews.blogspot.com/

Fluoride Action Network http://www.FluorideAction.Net

Fluoride Journal http://www.FluorideResearch.Org



On Apr 9, 12:30 pm, "Lady Penelope Creighton-Ward"

wrote:
I have a 4-week old who is exclusively formula-fed. I've just learnt
that infants up to six months should ideally not consume any fluoride
in order to avoid fluorosis. We've been using Brita-filtered water to
make up his formula until now, and occasionally Poland Spring bottled
water. I can't figure out if he's getting too much fluoride right now
and if we should buy special bottled baby water instead. What is the
recommendation on this?