Fluoridation Turns 70

The following appeared in UDA Action, a publication of the Utah Dental Association (Vol. 12, Number 1, January/February 2015). On January 25, 1945 in Grand Rapids, Michigan, fluoridation of public water was introduced in the United States.  January 25, 2015 concludes seventy years of amazing experience with water fluoridation in our country. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has recognized water fluoridation as one of ten great public health achievements of the 1900s! In 1945 dental decay was a very serious problem:

• the typical school child developed 3-4 new carious lesions each year
• 40% of all World War II draftees required immediate treatment for the relief of pain
• a military requirement that inductees must have 6 opposing teeth had to be eliminated very early in World War II processing—too for qualified
• it was not uncommon for high school graduates to receive a set of dentures as a present so they had more opportunities for employment
• brides would often receive dentures as wedding gifts so they could smile for their wedding photos

Today 74.6% of the U.S. population, and 54% of the Utah population, have fluoridated public water. Photo by RabidSquirrel