- Water fluoridation benefits both children and adults, providing benefits across the life span
- Water fluoridation is effective above and beyond any other practice in which a person might engage to prevent dental caries.
- Water fluoridation helps reduce oral health disparities.
- Water Fluoridation is effective at the community level.
- Water fluoridation is cost effective when compared with the cost of AVOIDABLE dental treatment.
- Water fluoridation can enhance the effectiveness of other dental prevention practices such as the use of fissure sealants for children.
- Water fluoridation can help migrate the effect of some risk factors, such as a high-sugar diet or consumption of sweetened beverages.
- There are no known harmful effects from ingestion of water that has had fluoride added to it at or about 0.7-1.2 milligrams/liter. No systematic reviews of literature have shown any negative health effects from ingestion of water fluoridated in or near this therapeutic range.
- Dental fluorosis observed in both fluoridated (at or about 0.7-1.2 mg/L) and non-fluoridated areas is, for the most part, not a cosmetic concern.
- Caries is a more important health problem than is dental fluorosis, but there always is a trade-off between the two conditions.
- Fluorosis is a concern only for a small number of people and rarely in areas with adjusted fluoride levels.
Information from JADA 144(1)January 2013, pg 71.http://jada.ada.org
Pediatric Dental Center
Warren, MI
Dr. O’Riordan and Dr. Shah