22. What are the drinking water standards for maximum levels of fluoride? What do you mean by an MCL, an MCLG, and a secondary standard for fluoride? What is the difference?
The current enforceable drinking water standard for fluoride is 4.0 mg/L. This is the maximum amount that is allowed in water from public water systems, also called the Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL). The MCL is set to be as close to the public health goal as EPA finds may be achieved with the use of the best available technology, taking cost into consideration. The public health goal, called a Maximum Contaminant Level Goal (MCLG), is not enforceable and is based solely on possible health risks and exposure over a lifetime. For fluoride, analytical methods or treatment technology do not pose any limitation so the MCL currently equals the MCLG of 4.0.
A secondary standard is a non-enforceable guideline to regulate contaminants that may cause cosmetic effects (such as skin or tooth discoloration) or aesthetic effects (such as taste, odor, or color of drinking water). EPA recommends secondary standards to water systems but does not require systems to comply. For fluoride, the secondary standard is 2.0 mg/L.
23. Has the safety of community water fluoridation been evaluated?
The safety and effectiveness of fluoride at levels used in community water fluoridation has been thoroughly documented by scientific and public health organizations using scientific reviews and expert panels. These expert panels consist of scientists from the United States and other countries with expertise in various health and scientific disciplines, including oral health, medicine, biophysics, chemistry, toxicological pathology, and epidemiology. Experts have weighed the findings and the quality of the available evidence and found that the weight of peer-reviewed scientific evidence does not support an association between water fluoridation and any adverse health effect or systemic disorders.
24. What can I do to limit my exposure to fluoride?
Talk with your dentist about the best use of fluoride to prevent tooth decay. In adults in the U.S., there is little concern about unwanted health effects even from the combined level of fluoride from all sources. The main sources of fluoride intake for a child are from swallowing toothpaste and from water. Fluoride toothpaste is effective for preventing tooth decay and does not contribute to fluorosis unless it is swallowed. Because children under 6 have poor control of their swallow reflex, they tend to swallow much of the toothpaste on their brush. Parents or caregivers should supervise their child’s tooth brushing, ensuring that that the child uses only a small pea-sized amount of paste, spits out the excess paste, and rinses well after brushing.
Water fluoridation is beneficial for reducing and controlling tooth decay and promoting oral health in children and adults. Recent estimates of reductions in tooth decay can be credited to community water fluoridation. You can check with your local water supplier to see how much fluoride is in your drinking water.
Consumers served by private wells may want to have their water tested by a state certified laboratory. You can find one by contacting your state water certification officer. Contact information for your state can be found at
http://water.epa.gov/scitech/drinkingwater/labcert/
. You should have read one of the most important parts of the meta-analysis: the date 
@ cats thinking this is 'new' and that fluoride is industrial waste. What's next, you gonna tell me the Nazi's used it for 'mind control'?.....