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Something in the Water - Fluoridation and Caries

Fluoride is well known to have beneficial effects on dental health by helping to prevent cavities. Therefore, as a public health measure, fluoride is often added to community water supplies. However, when present in drinking water above the World Health Organisation’s (WHO’s) recommended concentration, long term exposure can lead to a disease called fluorosis. Fluorosis is characterised by staining and pitting of the teeth but can cause painful damage to bones and joints in severe cases. Therefore, communities must have access to drinking water containing safe levels of fluoride. As a result, water fluoridation is an important discussion topic among dentists, public health practitioners, policymakers and stakeholders interested in oral health and well-being. This Collection brings together articles on this public health issue.

  1. Dental fluorosis can be a disease of social inequity in access to safe drinking water. This dental public health issue becomes prominent in socially disadvantaged agrarian communities in fluoride endemic areas...

    Authors: Chanapong Rojanaworarit, Luz Claudio, Nopporn Howteerakul, Auamduan Siramahamongkol, Pattraravith Ngernthong, Pornpimol Kongtip and Susan Woskie
    Citation: BMC Oral Health 2021 21:545
    Content type: Research article Published on:

  2. Among the methods currently available to provide fluoride in population levels, fluoridated water is the most successful for presenting high efficacy, safety and good cost–benefit. However, recent studies on e...

    Authors: Bárbara Souza Martins Rosário, Henrique Damian Rosário, Walbert de Andrade Vieira, Graziela Oro Cericato, Diego Figueiredo Nóbrega, Cauane Blumenberg, Fernando Neves Hugo, Márcio Magno Costa and Luiz Renato Paranhos
    Citation: BMC Oral Health 2021 21:410
    Content type: Research article Published on:

  3. Dental caries is the most prevalent non-communicable health condition globally. The surface-based susceptibility hierarchy indicates that surfaces in the same group have similar susceptibility to caries, where...

    Authors: Lina Stangvaltaite-Mouhat, Alina Puriene, Indre Stankeviciene and Jolanta Aleksejuniene
    Citation: BMC Oral Health 2021 21:234
    Content type: Research article Published on:

  4. Community water fluoridation (CWF), the controlled addition of fluoride to the water supply for the prevention of dental caries (tooth decay), is considered a safe and effective public health intervention. The...

    Authors: Jodi Cronin, Stephen Moore, Máiréad Harding, Helen Whelton and Noel Woods
    Citation: BMC Oral Health 2021 21:158
    Content type: Research article Published on:

  5. Community water fluoridation (CWF) is considered one of the 10 greatest public health achievements of the twentieth century and has been a cornerstone strategies for the prevention and control of dental caries...

    Authors: Rodrigo Mariño and Carlos Zaror
    Citation: BMC Oral Health 2020 20:115
    Content type: Research article Published on: