In Saudi Arabia, all bottled water naturally contain 0.75 to 1.0 PPM Fluoride that is very adequate to help reduce dental caries. .
Fluoride is a nutritional element. Ingesting Fluoride by the fore mentioned doses is beneficial for teeth. However, Fluoride can be toxic if taken in high doses. For children a dose of 32 mg/Kg body weight is highly toxic. Eight mg per KG is a safe dose. Usually, acute toxicity happens if your child likes the taste of chewable Fluoride tablets and swallow the whole pack at once!!! Please keep all medicines out of your child's reach. If such an accident happens, remember that Fluoride loves Calcium, accordingly, the treatment of such toxicity is a calcium solution, the best is milk. If you think the toxicity is more sever you can induce vomiting as a first aid before taking your child to a hospital. Parenthood is not easy . I recommend Basic Life Support (BLS) course as one of the qualifications for that job.
Photo from corbis.com
Nile river water contains 0.35
part/million Fluoride. This is about one third of the recommended content (1
PPM). But because the Nile is the key of life to Egyptians, it reflects its
Fluoride content in plants and meat Egyptians consume. Research showed that
Egypt does not need water Fluoridation. Also the high water consumption due
to Egypt's warm climate has lead to this conclusion.
Fluoride is the single most effective element that proved to prevent or stop dental caries. It forms around 320 part/million of the earth's crust. The most common form in nature is Fluorspar (CaF2) and Cryolite Sodium Aluminum Fluoride (Na3AlF6), it's the raw material for Aluminum production.
Fluoride, inhibits dental caries through many ways. It changes the chemical structure of dental enamel from Calcium Hydroxyl apatite to Calcium Fluor apatite which is less soluble in acids. (tooth decay is the dissolution of tooth structure in acids produced by bacterial plaque from sugar). Also, Fluoride decreases the affinity of Enamel surface to bacterial plaque adhesion. Fluoride inhibits the action of certain enzymes needed by bacteria to convert sugar into acids. Finally, Fluoride, if ingested during the formation of teeth, would be incorporated in the enamel structure reducing the depth of natural enamel fissures making them less retentive to food stuff.
Fluoride is mostly supplied in drinking water as one part per million (PPM). In countries with non Fluoridated water supply, It might be recommended to give your child Fluoride tablets, but this should be according to your dentist's instructions. One important factor to be considered is the average daily temperature of the region you live in. The higher the temperature, the more water your child is likely to drink, the less Fluoride concentration he/she might need.