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Overview
Community water fluoridation is the process through which the fluoride content in water is adjusted to a level that is optimal for preventing tooth decay. First introduced in the 1950’s, it has been hailed as one of the ten great public health achievements of the 20th century.
Drinking optimally fluoridated water is unquestionably one of the safest and most beneficial, cost-effective  public health measures for preventing, controlling, and in some cases reversing, tooth decay. Unfortunately, many citizens believe their public water contains optimal levels of fluoride when, in fact, it does not.
Efforts to introduce fluoridation are frequently undermined by limited funds for infrastructure, perceived controversy, voter apathy, confusing ballot language, and an abundance of misinformation that has flourished on the Internet. As a result, optimally fluoridated water is available to only two-thirds of those served by public water systems.
- Universal fluoridation—The ADA believes that all communal water supplies containing less than the optimal level of fluoride should be adjusted to an optimum level.
- Infrastructure support—The ADA urges the Congress to make capacity-building funds readily available to help communities establish, upgrade, and maintain an effective public water fluoridation infrastructure.
- Additional research—The ADA welcomes calls for additional controlled studies on the safety, health benefits, and cost-effectiveness of community water fluoridation.
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Letters and Testimony
- October 20, 2006—Statement of support for the FDA's decision to allow bottlers to claim that fluoridated water may reduce the risk of dental cavities or tooth decay
- July 17, 2006—Letter to Prevention magazine, urging the editor to correct several misleading statements about fluoride's safety and effectiveness | PDF file/36k
- March 22, 2006—Statement on the National Academy of Sciences report, Fluoride in Drinking Water: A Scientific Review of EPA's Standard
- October 14, 2005—Letter to the National Academy of Sciences (NAS), urging the National Research Council's Committee on Toxicology to disregard the claims of an anti-fluoridation thesis prior to its having been peer reviewed and published
| PDF file/70k
- October 14, 2005—Letter to the National Institute of Environmental Sciences (NIEHS), opposing efforts to include fluoridated tap water in the National Toxicology Program's 11th Report on Carcinogens | PDF file/47k
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ADA Resources
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Additional Resources
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Contact Us
For additional information, please contact:
Federal Affairs
1111 14th Street NW, Suite 1100
Washington, DC 20005
202.898.2400
Fax: 202.898.2437
E-mail: govtpol@ada.org
State Government Affairs
ADA Chicago Headquarters
211 East Chicago Avenue
Chicago, IL 60611
312.440.2525
Fax: 312.440.3539
E-mail: govtpol@ada.org
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