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Health Canada Statement on Fluoride in Drinking Water
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2011-82
June 21, 2011 (revised June 23, 2011)
For immediate release
OTTAWA - Health Canada understands that Canadians are concerned about the safety of their drinking water. Drinking water in Canada is among the safest in the world.
Health Canada collaborates with the provinces and territories through the Federal-Provincial-Territorial Committee on Drinking Water to develop the Guidelines for Canadian Drinking Water Quality. The guidelines are continuously under review, to take into consideration new pertinent scientific knowledge. An updated guideline technical document on fluoride was published today, which reaffirms the maximum acceptable concentration for fluoride in drinking water. Currently available peer-reviewed scientific studies continue to indicate that there are no adverse health effects from exposure to fluoride in drinking water at or below the maximum acceptable concentration.
The technical document also recommends an updated, slightly lowered optimal fluoride concentration for communities choosing to fluoridate their water supply. While the fluoridation of drinking water supplies is a decision made by municipalities, or the appropriate provincial/territorial authority, Health Canada continues to strongly support water fluoridation as a safe, effective and cost effective public health measure to help prevent dental cavities. The safety and efficacy of water fluoridation has been frequently studied and continues to be supported by current science, and the beneficial effects of fluoride in the prevention of dental cavities have been well documented in scientific literature.
These benefits are recognized and endorsed by Health Canada and by more than 90 national and international professional health organizations including the Canadian Dental Association, the American Dental Association, the Canadian Public Health Association, the Canadian Paediatric Society, the Canadian Association of Public Health Dentistry, the American Public Health Association, the American Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Australian National Health and Medical Research Council, the World Health Organization, and the World Dental Federation which represents one million dentists worldwide.
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