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Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Division of Oral Health
Mail Stop F-10
4770 Buford Highway NE
Atlanta, GA 30341

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Overview

For 65 years, community water fluoridation has been a safe and healthy way to effectively prevent tooth decay. CDC has recognized water fluoridation as one of 10 great public health achievements of the 20th century.

Learn more detailed information on the following topics:

Featured Items

FLUID Fluoridation Policy Tool
This Fluoride Legislative User Information Database aids policy makers and public health law practitioners researching and comparing their current or proposed policies with others across the country to make informed decisions based on legal information.

Changes Proposed to National Fluoridation Level
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has proposed an adjustment to the recommendation for the optimal fluoride level in drinking water to prevent tooth decay.
Learn more about the proposed changes on Community Water Fluoridation: Questions and Answers.
See the HHS press release.

Lack of Association Between Daily Temperature and Children's Water Intake in the United States
The objective of this report is to describe the effect of maximum daily temperature on total water intake among children aged 1 to 10 years during 1999–2004.

Prevalence and Severity of Dental Fluorosis in the United States
A National Center for Health Statistics data brief on dental fluorosis in the U.S.

2010 Water Fluoridation Statistics
Every two years, CDC releases statistics on the percentage of the U.S. population that receives fluoridated drinking water. The most recent CDC statistics show that in 2010, 73.9%—204.3 million Americans—on community water systems received fluoridated water. This is an increase of nearly 9 million people since 2008.

CDC Honors 65 Years of Community Water Fluoridation
Community water fluoridation has been a safe and effective intervention for reducing tooth decay for 65 years. CDC’s Division of Oral Health honors its history and contribution to public health.

Building Capacity to Fluoridate (MSWord icon Word 1.2Mb)
This literature review was prepared as part of a qualitative research study about community referendums on community water fluoridation. This review provides history and background information for factors that may influence community decisions to adopt or reject fluoridation.

Surgeon General Support for Fluoridated Water
The last five Surgeons General have issued statements endorsing water fluoridation.

National Research Council (NRC)
The NRC’s report, Fluoride in Drinking Water: A Scientific Review of EPA’s Standard, provides the findings and recommendations of its review of EPA’s current maximum contaminant level goal for fluoride in drinking water.

My Water's Fluoride
This component of the CDC Web site allows consumers in participating states to find basic information about their water system, including the number of people served by the system and the target fluoridation level.

MSWord icon One or more documents on this Web page are available in Microsoft® Word Format (DOC). You will need Word Viewer to view and print these documents.

Page last reviewed: April 27, 2012
Page last updated: April 27, 2012
Content source: Division of Oral Health, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion

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