The beneficial effects of fluoride on human oral health are well studied. There are numerous studies demonstrating that a small amount of fluoride delivered to the oral cavity decreases the prevalence of dental decay and results in stronger teeth and bones. However, ingestion of fluoride more than the recommended limit leads to toxicity and adverse effects. In order to update our understanding ...

Dental caries can be prevented by a combination of community, professional, and individual measures including water fluoridation, professionally applied topical fluorides and dental sealants, and use of fluoride toothpastes. Yet, tooth decay is the most common chronic disease of childhood. Dental care is the most prevalent unmet health need in US children with wide disparities existing in oral ...

The aim of this review is to give an overview of milk fluoridation programs and draw conclusions about the applicability of the method in caries prevention. Fluoridated milk was first investigated in the early 1950s, almost simultaneously in Switzerland, the USA and Japan. Stimulated by the favourable results obtained from these early studies, the establishment of The Borrow Dental Milk Foundat...

OBJECTIVE To examine some of the potential benefits and risks of water fluoridation for older adults. METHODS This study used 'The Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing', to access a nationally representative sample of 4977 people aged 50 and older. The sample was used to estimate associations between the percentage of households in a respondent's local area with a currently fluoridated water su...

BACKGROUND Questions regarding control over a water fluoridation system in a British Columbia (BC) community led to a drinking water management survey in 1997-98. METHOD A questionnaire was constructed based on published drinking water control and management criteria and was sent to 91 communities. RESULTS 73/91 surveys were returned (80% response rate); 31 reported a protected water supply...

This section looks back to some ground-breaking contributions to public health, reproducing them in their original form and adding a commentary on their significance from a modern-day perspective. In this issue, Michael A Lennon reviews the first trial of a fluoridated public water supply. Extracts of the report of the trial by Francis A Arnold et al. in 1956 are reproduced below by permission ...

OBJECTIVE To determine whether New Zealand general dental practitioners support community water fluoridation (CWF), and to gauge their opinions on its possible systemic side-effects. METHODS An online survey was conducted in 2010, involving the 1174 general dental practitioners who had email addresses on the Dental Register and were contactable in New Zealand. A total of 465 dentists (39.6%) ...