What Are The Benefits of Water fluoridation?

Drinking fluoridated water increases the resistance of teeth to Decay.

This means:

• fewer Fillings
• fewer Aesthetic problems
• fewer extractions
• fewer visits to the dentist and
• lower dental bills

Resulting in:

• better Smiles,
• fewer Dentures
• indirectly less orthodontic problems
• less self-esteem issues and
• less pain and suffering

Fluoridation has reduced the number of school and work days lost to dental problems.

A community that fluoridates its water today will have teeth with approximately half as many cavities in 10 years’ time.

It benefits all teeth and all ages as the fluoridated water has a continuous topical action.

There is ample evidence that if fluoridation ceases the rate of decay increases despite the use of fluoride toothpaste and supplements and decay rate decreases again when fluoridation is re-introduced.

Is Fluoridation Safe?

Yes

Fluoride's safety has been monitored for the past fifty years through over 30,000 studies and no evidence has ever been found that water fluoridation causes any adverse health effects on the elderly or any other age group.

Five major inquiries have addressed the issue of water fluoridation in Australia.

Most were prompted by claims that new evidence showed water fluoridation to be either harmful or ineffective.

All the inquiries found the allegations to be unproven and fluoridation to be safe, effective and economical.

These reports are:

• Report of the Royal Commissioner into the Fluoridation of Public Water Supplies (Hobart, 1968)
• Report of the Committee of Inquiry into the Fluoridation of Victorian Water Supplies for 1979-80 (Melbourne, 1980)
• Inquiry into Water Fluoridation in the ACT by the Standing Committee on Social Policy (1991)
• The National Oral Health Survey 1987-1988 (which provided a database for Australian oral health) and
• Report by the National Health Medical and Research Council on the Effectiveness of Water Fluoridation (1991) See www.nrv.gov.au/nutrients/fluoride.htm

Many cities throughout the world have large amounts of natural fluoride in their water supply without water fluoridation. Artificial water fluoridation was introduced over 50 years ago providing many opportunities to study fluoridation's side effects. The only effects of water fluoridation that have been scientifically proven are those that benefit teeth.