Education about the benefits of fluoridation is a part of most, if not all, of our dental school curriculums. The American Dental Association has endorsed for several decades community water fluoridation and fluoride-containing product usage as safe and effective measures for preventing tooth decay. Thanks to educational efforts by dentists and other health organizations, there has been a continual increase in the number of communities that have opted for fluoridating their water supplies. However, there are numerous areas in the United States that do not have appropriately fluoridated water systems. Chapters can determine whether the communities their dental schools serve are appropriately fluoridated. For the communities they find that are not, chapters can work with local dental societies and government to implement appropriate fluoridation in water systems.
With nearly sixty years of supporting fluoridation the ADA has amassed much information and documents on this issue, which are updated regularly. The following summarizes some of the content and provides links to important information.
ADA's Community Water Fluoridation Resources
http://www.ada.org/4045.aspx
These web pages contain products offered by the Council on Access, Prevention and Interprofessional Relations and the ADA Catalog tailored to help community fluoridation efforts.
ADA's Fluoridation Facts (2005)
http://www.ada.org/sections/newsAndEvents/pdfs/fluoridation_facts.pdf
This 71-page booklet covers topics such as the definition of fluoride, benefits, safety, public policy, cost effectiveness and more. It is loaded with facts citing over 350 scientific references. The booklet also contains a compendium of more than 125 "National and International Organizations That Recognize the Public Health Benefits of Community Water Fluoridation for Preventing Dental Decay."
The Healthy People 2010 Information Access Project
http://www.healthypeople.gov reports that currently over 62% of Americans drink fluoridated water. Their goal, however, for 2020 is 79.6% (section OH-13 at the following link.) http://www.healthypeople.gov/2020/topicsobjectives2020/default.aspx.