COMMUNITY WATER FLUORIDATION

The Texas Oral Health Coalition unequivocally supports community water fluoridation in the fight against dental decay for adults and children living in the state of Texas. Community water fluoridation is the adjustment of the existing fluoride levels in the public drinking water systems to a level that reduces tooth decay. Scientific evidence compiled over more than six decades demonstrates that fluoridation is a safe, cost-effective, and equitable intervention that benefits everyone in a given community regardless of age, race, ethnicity or socioeconomic status. The tremendous success of fluoridation led the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to declare it one of the ten greatest public health achievements of the 20th century.

Dental disease continues to have a profound impact on the health of children and adults living in Texas, with a greater impact to those who are at greater risk for disease.  Tooth decay is the most common childhood disease and is 5 times more common than asthma. Studies demonstrate that children lose over 51 million hours of school per year, and adults lose more than 1.5 million work hours annually due to dental disease. Community water fluoridation has been shown to reduce dental decay by between 18-40%.

Water fluoridation is endorsed by the World Health Organization, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Environmental Protection Agency, the American Medical Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Public Health Association, the American Dental Association, the American Dental Hygienists’ Association, and the five most recent U.S. Surgeons General. In addition, more than 100 national and international organizations have recognized the public health benefits of community water fluoridation.  The scientific evidence over the past 75 years demonstrates that community water fluoridation is a safe, cost-effective, and equitable approach to prevent tooth decay.