Bottled water has rapidly become a very popular drink. In this age of convenience bottled water fits in very well with many new modern lifestyles. It provides portable and handily available purified and sanitized drinking water. It is also an upgrade from the many artificially or with high fructose corn syrup sweetened drinks that have flooded the market.

The question is whether or not it is a great improvement over tap water.

On the positive side tap water is cheap, basically safe, easily available, has fluoride which can help prevent tooth decay, has a neutral or slightly alkaline pH, usually contains some good minerals and depending on where you’re at can have a good taste.

On the negative side tap water can be polluted with many industrial chemicals that are not totally removed by the water purification systems, can contain excessive amounts of iron, sulfur or fluoride, can draw lead or copper from the pipes, and on occasion he contaminated with bacteria and waste products from occasional flooding.

On the positive side bottled water is safe from bacterial infections, can taste good, easily portable, can have an alkaline pH and be free of fluoride.

On the negative side bottled water is very expensive, has usually a very acid pH, has no fluoride in the water, may have very few nutritional minerals, may contain unacceptable levels of the plastic chemicals (bisphosphonates) that leech from plastic containers.

Conclusions:

1. Fluoride in the water is both positive and negative depending on who is drinking it.

2. Kids benefit from the fluoride helping to reduce the amount of a dental decay. However this is a doubtful benefit for most adults and there is some concern that the fluoride ion in tap water reacts with the some of the trace chemicals in the tap water making them more carcinogenic.

3. It is my opinion that fluoride is best applied topically by your dentist or hygienist for the most effective protection of your teeth with minimal systemic side effects.

4. High fluoride concentration tooth gels can be used by high-risk adults and by kids under supervision to avoid excess swallowing of the gel. 2-3 times a week is enough to be effective.

5. Having an occasional bottle of water is not a health risk. Drinking only bottled water could be a problem. The best of both worlds would be to buy a water filter and alkalizing unit that will purify your tap water and increase the pH of the water up to 9. There are many health benefits in doing this. Alkaline water increases your body’s ability to neutralize excess acid ions that come from the high amount of acid foods and liquids we ingest. This will help the body reduce inflammation, tooth decay and enamel erosion in the mouth and generalized water retention. Weight loss and lower blood pressure is another benefit.