COEUR d'ALENE - For the first time in more than 50 years the federal government is reducing the fluoride level in public water - but it won't matter in Kootenai County.

While 75 percent of the public water systems in the United States add fluoride to their drinking water, the systems serving Kootenai County residents do not.

In 1962, the federal government recommended adding fluoride to the water after discovering that in some areas of the country - where fluoride is naturally occurring in the water - oral health was significantly better, according to a release from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Since then, however, fluoride has been added to more and more products such as toothpaste and mouthwash. HHS said this is causing an increase in fluorosis in some parts of the country.

Fluorosis is largely a cosmetic concern, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

"The only documented risk of water fluoridation is fluorosis, and it is primarily a cosmetic risk," says Barbara Gooch, a dentist at the CDC, who was interviewed by National Public Radio. "Fluorosis in the milder form is not a health risk."

The HHS release said in most cases, fluorosis manifests as barely visible lacy white marking or spots on the tooth enamel.

The new recommendation is for a single level of 0.7 milligrams of fluoride per liter of water. It updates and replaces the previous recommended range of 0.7 to 1.2 milligrams per liter issued in 1962.

The new recommended level will maintain the protective decay prevention benefits of water fluoridation and reduce the occurrence of dental fluorosis, according to HHS.

According to Terry Pickel, assistant superintendent of water in the City of Coeur d'Alene, the city does not add fluoride to its water.

"We don't put fluoride in, but we do put chlorine in the water," Pickel said. "There is a slight taste to it, and you can smell it a little, but it's not real noticeable."

Pickel said the city maintains a level of 0.2 parts per million of chlorine daily because of the size of the city's system.

In Post Falls, the city only chlorinates its water once a year. Water Superintendent Matt Isch wasn't available for comment Wednesday, but Naomi Tierney, who works in the water department, said they chlorinate in the fall usually in October or November.

Sean Hoisington, the City of Hayden's public works director, could not be reached for comment Wednesday.