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Resource Library
Fact Sheet
Community Water Fluoridation:
Surgeon General's Statement, 2004
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Since the 1950s, each U.S. Public Health Service Surgeon General has
committed his or her support for community water fluoridation. Below is
the most recent endorsement supporting community water fluoridation from
Surgeon General, Richard H. Carmona, M.D., M.P.H., F.A.C.S., VADM, USPHS.
As noted in Oral
Health in America: A Report of the Surgeon General,
community water fluoridation continues to be the most cost-effective,
equitable and safe means to provide protection from tooth decay in a
community. Scientific studies have found that people living in communities
with fluoridated water have fewer cavities than those living where the
water is not fluoridated. For more than 50 years, small amounts of fluoride
have been added to drinking water supplies in the United States where
naturally-occurring fluoride levels are too low to protect teeth from
decay. Over 8,000 communities are currently adjusting the fluoride in their
community’s water to a level that can protect the oral health of their
citizens.
Over 170 million people, or 67 percent of the United States population
served by public water supplies, drink water with optimal fluoride levels
for preventing decay. Of the 50 largest cities in the country, 43 are
fluoridated. Although water fluoridation reaches some residents in every
state, unfortunately, only 24 states are providing these benefits to 75
percent or more of their residents.
A significant advantage of water fluoridation is that all residents of a
community can enjoy its protective benefit—at home, work, school, or
play—simply by drinking fluoridated water or beverages and foods prepared
with it. A person’s income level or ability to receive routine dental care
is not a barrier to receiving fluoridation’s health benefits. Water
fluoridation is a powerful strategy in our efforts to eliminate differences
in health among people and is consistent with my emphasis on the importance
of prevention.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has recognized the
fluoridation of drinking water as one of ten great public health
achievements of the twentieth century. Water fluoridation has helped
improve the quality of life in the United States by reducing pain and
suffering related to tooth decay, time lost from school and work, and money
spent to restore, remove, or replace decayed teeth. An economic analysis
has determined that in most communities, every $1 invested in fluoridation
saves $38 or more in treatment costs. Fluoridation is the single most
effective public health measure to prevent tooth decay and improve oral
health over a lifetime, for both children and adults.
While we can be pleased with what has already been accomplished, it is
clear that there is much yet to be done. Policymakers, community leaders,
private industry, health professionals, the media, and the public should
affirm that oral health is essential to general health and well being and
take action to make ourselves, our families, and our communities healthier.
I join previous Surgeons General in acknowledging the continuing public
health role for community water fluoridation in enhancing the oral health
of all Americans.
Richard H. Carmona, M.D., M.P.H., F.A.C.S.
VADM, USPHS
United States Surgeon General
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This
statement is also available as a PDF
file (PDK - 90K). Learn about viewing PDF files with Adobe
Acrobat.
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