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Water fluoridation is the practice of adding Fluoride compounds to Water with the intended purpose of reducing Tooth Decay in the general population. Many North America n and Australian municipalities fluoridate their water supplies in the belief that this practice will reduce tooth decay at a low cost. Currently 66% of United States residents on public water supplies have fluoridated water.http://www.awwa.org/Advocacy/pressroom/fluoride.cfm Water purveyors typically add a fluoride in the form of sodium hexafluorosilicate or hexafluorosilicic acid,Reeves T.G.: "Technical aspects of water fluoridation in the United States and an overview of fluoridation engineering world-wide", Community Dent. Health 13: Suppl. 2 (1996) 21-26. Bellack E.: "Fluoridation Engineering Manual", Report EPA-520/9-74-022, (1974). at a level between 0.7 and 1.2 ( Na F ), Sodium Monofluorophosphate ("SMFP" or "MFP", Na2FPO3), Tin(II) Fluoride ("Stannous fluoride", Sn F2), and Amine Fluorides are common ingredients in Toothpaste . Water fluoridation has Provoked Controversy , although opponents of fluoridation have not assembled as a majority in the scientific community. Whether for health concerns, or for concerns of consent, or because their people are receiving fluoride through other means, some governments have ceased or decided not to start fluoridating their water. However, no country has discontinued or refused to adopt fluoridation simply because it was proven harmful in any way. HISTORY While the use of fluorides for prevention of region. Despite having a negative impact on the physical appearance of their teeth, the children with stained or mottled teeth also had fewer cavities than other children. McKay brought the problem to the attention of Dr. G.V. Black , and Black's interest into the Colorado stain led to greater interest throughout the dental profession. Initial hypotheses for the staining included poor Cryolite , one of whose constituents is fluorine. As the rain and snow fell, the resulting runoff water dissolved fluoride which made its way into the water supply. Dental research then moved toward determining a safe level for fluoride in water supplies. The research had two goals: (1) to warn communities with a high concentration of fluoride of the danger, initiating a reduction of the fluoride levels in order to prevent the Colorado stain, currently known as Dental Fluorosis , and (2) to encourage communities with a low concentration of fluoride in drinking water to increase the fluoride levels in order to help prevent tooth decay. The classic epidemiological study to attempt to determine the optimal level of fluoride in water was led by Dr. H. Trendley Dean, a dental officer of the U.S. Public Health Service , in 1934.Dean, H.T. "Classification of mottled enamel diagnosis." ''Journal of the American Dental Association'', 21, 1421 - 1426, 1934.Dean, H.T. "Chronic endemic dental fluorosis." ''Journal of the American Dental Association'', 16, 1269 - 1273, 1936. His research on the fluoride - dental caries relationship, published in 1942, included 7,000 children from 21 cities in Colorado , Illinois , Indiana , and Ohio . The study concluded that the optimal level of fluoride which minimized the risk of severe fluorosis but had positive benefits for tooth decay was 1 part per million (ppm). In 1939, Dr. Gerald J. CoxMeiers, Peter: [http://www.fluoride-history.de/cox.htm "Gerald Judy Cox"]. conducted laboratory tests on fluoride and suggested adding fluoride to drinking water (or other media such as milk or bottled water) in order to improve oral health.Cox, G.J., M.C. Matuschak, S.F. Dixon, M.L. Dodds, W.E. Walker. "Experimental dental caries IV. Fluorine and its relation to dental caries. Journal of Dental Research, 18, 481-490, 1939. Copy of original paper can be found here . In 1937, dentists Henry Klein and Carroll E. Palmer had considered the possibility of fluoridation to prevent cavities after their evaluation of data gathered by a Public Health Service team at dental examinations of American Indian children.Klein H., Palmer C.E.: "Dental caries in American Indian children", Public Health Bulletin, No. 239, Dec. 1937 In a series of papers published afterwards (1937-1941), yet disregarded by his colleagues within the U.S.P.H.S., Klein summarized his findings on tooth development in children and related problems in epidemiological investigations on caries prevalence. In the mid 1940s, four widely-cited studies were conducted. The researchers investigated cities that had both fluoridated and unfluoridated water. The first pair was was paired with Newburgh, New York .Ast, D.B., D.J. Smith, B. Wacks, K.T. Cantwell. "Newburgh-Kingston caries-fluorine study XIV. Combined clinical and roentgenographic dental findings after ten years of fluoride experience." ''Journal of the American Dental Association'', 52, 314-25, 1956. Oak Park, Illinois was paired with Evanston, Illinois . Sarnia, Ontario was paired with Brantford, Ontario , Canada .Brown, H., M. Poplove. "The Brantford-Sarnia-Stratford Fluoridation Caries Study: Final Survey, 1963." Canadian Journal of Public Health,56, 319–24, 1965. The research found a decrease in the incidence of tooth decay in cities which had added fluoride to water supplies. BOTTLED WATER AND FLUORIDATION Currently, there is some concern among dental professionals that the growing use of bottled water may decrease the amount of fluoride exposure people will receive.Smith, Michael. "Bottled Water Cited as Contributing to Cavity Comeback" , from the MedPage Today website, page accessed 29 April, 2006. Some bottlers such as Dannon have begun adding fluoride to their water. Press release from the Water Industry News website] Most bottlers, however, do not add fluoride, and fluoride concentrations are not usually labeled on the bottle. As a result, people who have fluoridated water supplies may receive less than the amounts of fluoride that fluoride proponents recommend if they choose bottled water over tap water. However, if consumers are merely choosing bottled water over other packaged drinks, such as Orange Juice or Soda (when the latter is produced using water which has not been fluoridated), the effects may be absent, especially because consumers will still turn to tap water for cooking (i.e. preparing pasta or making bread). MALFUNCTIONS IN WATER FLUORIDATION EQUIPMENT |
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