From the Front Line
Albany residents will benefit from fluoridation
April 10, 2024
The capital city of New York State will begin to fluoridate its tap water next year. The Common Council in Albany voted 12-0 last month in favor of the proposal, and the mayor has signed the measure. This victory for public health is a long time in coming. Oral health… » Read Full Post
Exposure to Fluoride: How It’s Measured Really Matters
April 2, 2024
Opponents of water fluoridation are quick to cite a 2019 Canadian study (Green et al.) to claim that fluoride affects the IQ of 3 and 4 year old children. A new peer-reviewed analysis refutes the validity of this study, showing that the Canadian researchers relied on invalid measures of both… » Read Full Post
School Nurses Voice Concern After County Ends Fluoridation
February 27, 2024
When officials in Collier County, Florida, recently voted to end fluoridation, dental professionals and pediatricians weren’t the only people who were disheartened. School nurses were concerned too. School nurses see firsthand the negative impact that chronic disease, of which tooth decay is one, has on children’s ability to attend school… » Read Full Post
A Wartime Breakthrough for Children’s Oral Health
February 21, 2024
Amid the fighting of World War II, an urgent need to relocate children in Great Britain led to a powerful discovery — one that helped to revolutionize public health and children’s oral health. In a recent newspaper article, British dentist Ray Lowry told this fascinating story. Early in the war,… » Read Full Post
Taking a Fresh Look at British Fluoride Study
November 7, 2023
In recent years, multiple studies have compared the impact of water fluoridation with communities that lacked access to this preventive health practice. Each one of these studies has revealed fluoridation’s benefits, but let’s take a closer look at the most recent study, which was conducted in England. The purpose of… » Read Full Post
Study: Fluoridation More Beneficial than Free Dental Care
November 2, 2023
A new study has linked community water fluoridation (CWF) in Israel with lower rates of tooth decay. The authors found no such link between decay and the effects of free dental services which were mandated in 2014. When Israel adopted nationwide water fluoridation in 2002, tooth decay among children fell… » Read Full Post
What does the EPA say about fluoride?
July 17, 2023
Like any vitamin or trace element, fluoride in water must be properly balanced for maximum benefit to prevent tooth decay. The recommended amount of fluoride in water is currently 0.7 parts per million, a level that prevents both cavities and fluorosis. Although fluoride occurs naturally in all water, in the… » Read Full Post
Fluoride in the Emerald City – History of Fluoridation in Seattle, Washington
July 5, 2023
In the early 1950s, health officials in cities across the United States, including those in Seattle, Washington, were eager to replicate the massive success of the first longitudinal fluoridation study in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The Seattle-King County Department of Public Health first proposed fluoridating Seattle’s water in 1951. The city… » Read Full Post
New Tools for Oral Health Risk Assessment
June 22, 2023
The AAP Oral Health Risk Assessment tool has been updated to streamline and support this essential component of the well-child visit. The tool is now accompanied by an intake form to collect pertinent patient information from parents/caregivers. An updated self-management goal sheet supports shared decision-making on preventing cavities and maintaining… » Read Full Post
Help for kids’ teeth: Another fluoridation study reports “clinically significant” benefits
June 22, 2023
A team of researchers in England examined the impact of community water fluoridation and has reported “strong evidence for a highly clinically significant reduction” in the prevalence and severity of tooth decay. This new study, The effect of community water fluoridation on dental caries in children and young people in… » Read Full Post
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