An Evaluation Of Fluoride Contents In Bottled Waters

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to evaluate the fluoride contents in bottled drinking waters commercially available in Qingdao region and of which the influence on dental health.METHODS: Eighty-four randomly selected commercial brands of bottled water were obtained from supermarkets and distributors in Qingdao. Three bottles of each brand were collected. According to the labels, all the samples were divided into four groups:mineral water; natural water (including spring water); purified(still)water;artificially mineralized water. Following calibration, five tests were conducted on each bottle using a combination fluoride-ion selective electrode (GB7484-87). The average reading for each brand was estimated. The data were analized by Anov and Q test.RESULTS: The fluoride content of the mineral water samples ranged from 0.03 to 1.22mg /L, with 76.67%<0.5mg/L; All the purified water and artificially mineralized water samples contained less than 0.05mg /L fluoride contents. The discrepancy between mineral waters and other waters were significant, while which did not exist between purified waters and artificially mineralized waters.CONCLUSIONS: This article showed that bottled drinking waters contain wide variant concentrations of fluoride. Two main points could be summarized: 1) solely drinking bottled water may not provide sufficient fluoride to maintain optimal dental health; 2) most bottled waters contained low concentrations of fluoride. In view of the wide variation of fluoride concentration in the tested bottled waters, it was recommended that all bottled water companies should consider stating their fluoride content on the labels.