More than 100 Government agencies and national and international
professional health organizations support water fluoridation. These
agencies include the World Health Organization, the U.S. Centres for
Disease Control & Prevention, Health Canada and both the Canadian
& American Dental Association among others. They all agreed that
adding fluoride to drinking water at recommended levels ( 0.7 mg per
litre of water ) reduces tooth decay. In Canada, trials proving this
date back to 1945 in Brantford, Ontario. Over 50 years of extensive
worldwide research has demonstrated the safety & effectiveness of
water fluoridation in reducing the incidence of dental decay.
Today
in Manitoba almost 95% of the population supplied by a public water
supply source receive fluoridated water. Fluoride works both topically
and systemically to prevent tooth decay by increasing the resistance of
tooth enamel to dental decay. Fluoride has been proven over & over
again to reduce dental decay in children by approximately 18 - 40%.
With every $1.00 spent on adding fluoride to the public water supply it
is estimated that $38.00 is saved in the cost of dental treatment.
Concerns
by some suggest that water fluoridation is toxic and harmful. There is
NO sound evidence to support these allegations. The recommended level
of fluoride added to the water supply has a built-in margin of safety
that takes into consideration the use of fluoride from other sources on
the most vulnerable age group in the population ( 22 - 36 months ).
Said additions of fluoride do not cause adverse health effects (such as
cancer or a risk for bone fractures). Of the thousands of credible
scientific studies on fluoridation, none has shown health problems
associated with the consumption of optimally fluoridated water. Water
fluoridation not only allows fluoride uptake by the enamel of the
unerupted developing teeth but also provides fluoride uptake by the
enamel of erupted teeth through saliva.
Not all countries provide
their citizens with fluoride through water fluoridation. Instead, many
countries choose to fluoridate their salt or milk instead. Other
examples of additives used to achieve population wide health benefits
include:
1) Iodine added to table salt to prevent thyroid disease
2) Vitamin D added to milk or juice to prevent rickets
3) Folic Acid added to flour to prevent birth defects.
Although
water fluoridation has been proven to benefit all residents of the
community, the population that MOST benefits are the seniors and the
hardest to reach poor for whom other preventative measures may not be
accessible.
Dental disease is the number one chronic disease
among children and adolescents in North America. Water fluoridation is
the most important public health measure used to effectively and
inexpensively counteract the disease!
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Dr Mitch Vodrey is a
Winnipeg childrens Pediatric Dentist Specialist located in downtown Winnipeg in the Medical Arts building providing
kids dental care for children. Visit us at http://www.drmitchvodrey.com/ for more details.