A Wartime Breakthrough for Children’s Oral Health

February 21st, 2024 Children's Oral Health, Children's Oral Health and Fluoride, Facts about Fluoride, Fluoride and Public Health

Amid the fighting of World War II, an urgent need to relocate children in Great Britain led to a powerful discovery — one that helped to revolutionize public health and children’s oral health. In a recent newspaper article, British dentist Ray Lowry told this fascinating story. Early in the war, children from North and South […]


Taking a Fresh Look at British Fluoride Study

November 7th, 2023 Facts about Fluoride, Fluoride and Public Health, Fluoride in the News

In recent years, multiple studies have compared the impact of water fluoridation with communities that lacked access to this preventive health practice. Each one of these studies has revealed fluoridation’s benefits, but let’s take a closer look at the most recent study, which was conducted in England. The purpose of CATFISH (Cumbrian Assessment of Teeth […]


Study: Fluoridation More Beneficial than Free Dental Care

November 2nd, 2023 Children's Oral Health and Fluoride, Fluoride and Public Health, Health Equity

A new study has linked community water fluoridation (CWF) in Israel with lower rates of tooth decay. The authors found no such link between decay and the effects of free dental services which were mandated in 2014. When Israel adopted nationwide water fluoridation in 2002, tooth decay among children fell significantly. The practice was discontinued […]


Fluoride in the Emerald City – History of Fluoridation in Seattle, Washington

July 5th, 2023 Children's Oral Health and Fluoride, Communities Supporting Fluoride, Fluoride and Public Health

In the early 1950s, health officials in cities across the United States, including those in Seattle, Washington, were eager to replicate the massive success of the first longitudinal fluoridation study in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The Seattle-King County Department of Public Health first proposed fluoridating Seattle’s water in 1951. The city council put the proposal to […]


Help for kids’ teeth: Another fluoridation study reports “clinically significant” benefits

June 22nd, 2023 Children's Oral Health and Fluoride, Fluoride and Public Health, Health Equity

A team of researchers in England examined the impact of community water fluoridation and has reported “strong evidence for a highly clinically significant reduction” in the prevalence and severity of tooth decay. This new study, The effect of community water fluoridation on dental caries in children and young people in England: an ecological study, focused […]


Does Correcting Fluoride Misinformation Backfire?

January 12th, 2023 Facts about Fluoride, Fluoride and Public Health

Years ago, research papers suggested that calling attention to public health myths and then correcting them could produce an unanticipated “backfire” effect. In other words, people might be more likely to remember the myths than to recall the facts (corrections). This issue has major implications for health educators who promote community water fluoridation. Fortunately, more […]


USCPS Task Force Issues a New Oral Health Resource

December 15th, 2022 Facts about Fluoride, Fluoride and Public Health, Health Equity

There are proven community-level approaches that protect our teeth by preventing tooth decay. A new color-coded resource from the U.S. Community Preventive Services Task Force summarizes its recommendations to reduce the rate of tooth decay and improve our oral health. Community water fluoridation is one of the strategies that the Task Force recommends. The Task […]


Does Fluoride Lower IQ Scores?

November 10th, 2022 Children's Oral Health and Fluoride, Facts about Fluoride, Fluoride and Public Health

IQ Scores; fluoride

America has been preventing tooth decay with fluoridated water for over 75 years. Community water fluoridation is effective, safe and benefits everyone regardless of age or income. About 75% of U.S. communities enjoy fluoridated water. Until recently, concerns about fluoride and IQ were rarely raised. Opponents of fluoridation began focusing on IQ after the 2012 publication of […]