Grand Rapids, Michigan was the first city in the country to add fluoride to water. On January 25, 2010, the CDC wrote this article to celebrate 65 years of community wide water fluoridation. The full text of this article is available here.
CDC Honors 65 Years of Community Water Fluoridation
Sixty-five years ago, on January 25, 1945, the city of Grand Rapids, Michigan, added fluoride to its municipal water system and community water fluoridation began. Since that day, this simple, safe, and inexpensive public health intervention has contributed to a remarkable decline in tooth decay in the United States, with each generation enjoying better oral health than the previous generation.
After fluoride’s oral health benefits were discovered in the 1930s, the next step was to achieve optimal levels in community water supplies. Four communities had agreed to undertake community studies, but Grand Rapids was the first to begin implementation. After fluoride was added to its water supply, Grand Rapids was compared to “control” communities with no added fluoride, and a detailed assessment of the relationship between fluoridation and tooth decay was performed. The National Academy of Sciences’ National Research Council (NRC) reviewed the results and found a dramatic decline in tooth decay in the Grand Rapids children. On November 29, 1951, the NRC declared water fluoridation safe, effective, and beneficial.
The NRC also recommended that any community with a child population of sufficient size, and that obtained their water from sources free from fluoride or low in fluoride, should consider adjusting the concentration to optimal levels for oral health. That same year, then-U.S. Surgeon General Leonard Andrew Scheele gave his endorsement of community water fluoridation, ushering in its widespread adoption by many other communities.
Since that time, numerous scientific studies and comprehensive reviews have recognized fluoride as an important nutrient for strong healthy teeth and as a safe, cost-effective way to prevent tooth decay. All residents of a community can enjoy its protective benefit simply by consuming foods and beverages prepared with fluoridated water. A person’s income level or ability to receive routine dental care is not a barrier to receiving its health benefits.
The benefits of community water fluoridation now reach more than 72% of the U.S. population served by community water systems. Although significant progress has been made, fluoridation is still underused in many parts of the country — only 27 states provide water fluoridation to more than 75% of the state's residents on public water systems.
The CDC’s Division of Oral Health salutes the dedication and perseverance of fluoridation pioneers. Because of their efforts and continued support from generations of dentists and other health care providers, health care and public health organizations, community leaders, water plant operators, and untold others, the prevention of tooth decay through community water fluoridation is recognized by the CDC as one of 10 great achievements in public health of the 20th century.
Full text of this article available at http://www.cdc.gov/fluoridation/65_years.htm or by clicking here.
