Water Fluoridation
and Cavity Prevention
Overview Community water fluoridation is the adjustment
of the amount of the beneficial trace
element fluoride found in water to provide
for the proper protection of teeth. Fluoridation
has been widely utilized in this country
since 1945. It does not involve adding
anything to the water that is not already
there, since virtually all sources of
drinking water in the United States contain
some fluoride. It is the 20th-century
adaptation of a naturally occurring process.
Fluoridation is a form of nutritional
supplementation that is not unlike the
addition of vitamins to milk, breads
and fruit drinks; iodine to table salt;
and both vitamins and minerals to breakfast
cereals, grains and pastas.
Fluoridation, an Excellent Public Health
Program
In April 1999, the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention proclaimed community
water fluoridation as one of 10 great
public health achievements of the 20th
century.
Community water fluoridation serves as
an example of an excellent public health
program. Because the benefits can be
readily provided to everyone served by
a fluoridated public water system, large
groups of people can benefit in a manner
that does not discriminate against any
group, regardless of age, race, gender,
ethnicity, religion, educational status,
socioeconomic level or any other demographic
categorization. Once fluoridation is
initiated, people benefit continuously
in a way that requires no special effort.
The protection of fluoridation reaches
community members in their homes, at
work and at school -- simply by drinking
the water. The only requirements for
the implementation of fluoridation are
the presence of a treatable centralized
water supply and approval by appropriate
decision makers.
Status of Community Water Fluoridation
Nearly 145 million Americans are currently
receiving the benefits of optimally fluoridated
water (62.2 percent of those 232.5 million
residents on central water supplies).
This total includes about 135 million
people on community water supplies where
fluoride levels are adjusted to optimum
levels and about 10 million people whose
water supplies have naturally occurring
fluoride levels in the optimum range
. This also represents over 14,300 water
systems that serve more that 10,500 American
communities. Of the 50 largest U.S. cities,
43 currently are fluoridated. Throughout
the world, including the United States,
fluoridated water (natural and/or adjusted)
benefits over 360 million people in more
than 60 countries.
Bibliography
American Dental Association. Fluoridation
Facts. Chicago, The Association; 1999:56.
Burt, BA (ed). The Relative Efficiency
of Methods of Caries Prevention in Dental
Public Health. Ann Arbor, Univ. of Michigan
Press; 1978:iv+326p.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Ten Great Public Health Achievements
-- United States, 1900-1999. MMWR Morb
Mortal Wkly Rep; 1999(12):241-242.
Public Health Focus: Fluoridation of Community
Water Systems. MMWR Morbidity Mortal
Weekly Report: Update. Atlanta, Centers
for Disease Control. 1992;41:372-375.
US Dept of Health & Human Services.
Fluoridation Fact Sheet. Atlanta, Centers
for Disease Control, FL-141, Dec. 1993.
US Dept of Health & Human Services.
Fifty Largest US Cities' Fluoridation
Status. Atlanta, Centers for Disease
Control, Nov 1994.
US Dept of Health & Human Services.
Fluoride: The Benefits Can Last A Lifetime.
Atlanta, Ga: Centers for Disease Control,
1992. 2p.
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