Goal Is to Raise Public’s Oral Health Awareness and Encourage Water Fluoridation
On November 15, 2011, three national organizations - Voices for America’s Children, the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Pew Children’s Dental Campaign - launched the Campaign for Dental Health to raise public awareness of the importance of oral health and the need for communities to invest in proven forms of prevention such as water fluoridation. The Campaign for Dental Health (CDH) will provide reliable, scientific information about oral health and water fluoridation, a safe strategy proven to prevent tooth decay. The CDH provides news and information on it’s new web site, ILikeMyTeeth.org.
Parents will be interested to know that fluoride exists naturally in virtually all water supplies. Water is “fluoridated” when a public water system adjusts the fluoride to a level known to prevent tooth decay. Among the many respected organizations that have endorsed fluoridation as a safe, effective way to reduce decay are The American Dental Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the Institute of Medicine, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Water fluoridation benefits people of all ages and income levels. As fluoridation has expanded to reach more Americans, our nation has seen a significant reduction in cavities and other dental problems. For example, the average number of decayed, filled or missing teeth among 12-year-olds in the U.S. fell 68 percent between 1966 and 1994. Fluoride reduces decay by strengthening tooth enamel.
“Children’s teeth are healthier than ever, but pediatricians around the country are still seeing kids, especially those from low-income areas, with high levels of decay,” said Mary Brown, MD, FAAP, an Oregon pediatrician and past board member of the American Academy of Pediatrics. “Expanding fluoridation would really help improve children’s oral health. It’s such an effective strategy because it doesn’t require families to spend extra money or change their daily routine.”
Frequently Asked Questions on Fluoride and Infants
Q: Why do children need fluoride?
A: Fluoride is an important mineral for young children. As a child’s teeth begin to form, fluoride strengthens the enamel to make it resistant to tooth decay. Later, after teeth are in the mouth, fluoride helps to reverse early signs of decay.1 This is how children benefit from drinking fluoridated water. Fluoride exists naturally in water, and “fluoridation” is simply adjusting fluoride to the optimal level for preventing tooth decay.
Q: I read something on the Internet suggesting that infants shouldn’t be exposed to fluoride. What’s this all about?
A: In recent years, questions have been raised about the use of fluoridated water to prepare infant formula. The American Dental Association (ADA) concludes that “it is safe to use fluoridated water to mix infant formula” and encourages parents to discuss any questions they may have with their dentists and pediatricians.2
Q: What is dental fluorosis and will fluoridated water increase the odds that an infant will later develop this condition?
A: Although using fluoridated water to prepare infant formula might increase the chance that a child develops dental fluorosis, nearly all instances of fluorosis are mild, cosmetic condition. Fluorosis typically appears as very faint white streaks on teeth. For examples of what mild fluorosis looks like, go to this web page: http://www.ada.org/5576.aspx?currentTab=1. In fact, the ADA reports that often “the effect is so subtle that, usually only a dental expert would notice it during an examination.”3 Mild fluorosis does not cause pain, nor does it affect the function or health of the teeth.4 And once a child reaches age 8, they cannot develop fluorosis.5
Q: What options do parents have if they prefer not to use fluoridated water for infant formula?
A: Parents or caregivers have three simple alternatives for feeding an infant.6 First, they can breastfeed their infants, which is what the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends.7 Second, they can use bottled or purified water that contains no fluoride to mix with formula. Third, they can use a ready-to-feed formula that does not require water to be added.
For more information on the American Academy of Pediatrics and children’s oral health, please go to http://www.aap.org/oralhealth/.
1 “Fluoride and Infant Formula: Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ),” American Dental Association, http://www.ada.org/4052.aspx#reconstitute , (accessed April 12, 2011).
2 “Fluoride and Infant Formula: Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ),” American Dental Association, http://www.ada.org/4052.aspx#reconstitute , (accessed April 12, 2011).
3 “Oral Health Topics: Fluorosis,” American Dental Association, accessed May 3, 2011 at http://www.ada.org/5576.aspx?currentTab=1.
4 “Oral Health Topics: Fluorosis,” American Dental Association; O. Chankanka, S. Levy et al. “A Literature Review of Aesthetic Perceptions of Dental Fluorosis and Relationships With Psychosocial Aspects/Oral Health-Related Quality of Life,” Community Dental and Oral Epidemoiology (2010), Vol. 38, 97-109, accessed on May 3 at http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20002631. (Note: The co-authors noted that dental fluorosis “is not a condition that causes pain or has clinical symptoms.”)
5 “Oral Health Initiative: Example of Fluorosis,” American Academy of Pediatrics, http://www.aap.org/oralhealth/cme/page45.htm (accessed April 26, 2011).
6 These alternatives are enumerated in a 2007 article in the Journal of the American Dental Association. See: “Infants, Formula and Fluoride,” Journal of the American Dental Association (January 2007), Vol. 138, 132, http://www.ada.org/sections/scienceAndResearch/pdfs/patient_70.pdf (accessed May 3, 2011).
7 “Policy Statement: Breastfeeding and the Use of Human Milk,” Pediatrics, (February 2005), Vol. 115, No. 2, 496-506, http://aappolicy.aappublications.org/cgi/content/full/pediatrics;115/2/496 (accessed May 5, 2011).
