Background - Benefits - Community Water Fluoridation

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Background Information

Tooth decay, also known as dental caries, is a health problem that has plagued humankind for centuries. Until as recently as 60 years ago, the damage caused by caries was an inevitable fact of life for most people. The disease often meant many visits to the dentist to have damage and painful teeth repaired or removed. Today, primarily as a result of fluoride, damage caused by decay can be reduced and, in many instances, prevented.

Fluoride's benefits for teeth were discovered in the 1930s. Dental scientists observed remarkably low decay rates among people whose water supplies contained significant amounts of natural fluoride. Several studies conducted during the 1940s and 1950s confirmed that when a small amount of fluoride is added to the community water supply, decay rates among residents of that community decrease. Although these studies focused primarily on the benefits of water fluoridation for children, more recent studies demonstrate that decay rates in adults are also reduced as a result of fluoride in the drinking water.

Water fluoridation (fluoride in water) prevents tooth decay two ways: primarily through direct contact with teeth throughout life, and when consumed by children during the tooth forming years. The most inexpensive way to deliver the benefits of fluoride to all residents of a community is through water fluoridation. All water naturally contains some fluoride. When a community fluoridates its water, it adjusts the level of fluoride in the water to the optimal level for preventing tooth decay. Currently, more than 170 million people in the United States using public water supplies drink water containing enough fluoride to protect teeth.

One of the health objectives contained in Healthy People 2010, the plan that sets health goals for the nation for the year 2010, calls for at least 75 percent of the population served by community water systems to receive optimal levels of fluoride. The current level is 67 percent. To reach this goal, approximately 14.3 million more people must gain access to fluoridated water through public water systems.

Other sources of fluoride are also available. Fluoride can be applied directly to teeth through toothpaste, mouth rinses, and professionally applied fluoride treatments available in the dental office. Children who have been evaluated by their dentists as being at high risk for tooth decay and whose home water supplies contain low amounts of fluoride can take dietary fluoride supplements. This daily supplement, which can be prescribed by a dentist or a physician, should be taken only by children if the home water supply has been verified to contain a low concentration of fluoride. These methods of delivering fluoride are more expensive than water fluoridation and require a conscious decision to use them. However, the widespread availability of fluorides, via water fluoridation, toothpaste, and other sources, has resulted in the steady decline of dental caries throughout the United States.