Biomaterial Database

Water fluoridation as a public health measure. 2010

Michael G McGrady, and Roger P Ellwood, and Iain A Pretty

School of Dentistry, The University of Manchester, Higher Cambridge Street, Manchester, UK.

Water fluoridation schemes have been used as dental public health measures for over 50 years. This second paper in a series of three aims to provide a background to the history of water fluoridation schemes and the evidence base that led to their implementation. The article will also discuss the processes and chemicals involved in fluoridation during water treatment. CONCLUSIONS This article aims to provide a summary for general practitioners of the history and evidence base for water fluoridation, to enable them to understand the role of water fluoridation in caries prevention and to be able to answer non-clinical questions raised by patients.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D011634	Public Health	Branch of medicine concerned with the prevention and control of disease and disability, and the promotion of physical and mental health of the population on the international, national, state, or municipal level.	Community Health,Environment, Preventive Medicine & Public Health,Environment, Preventive Medicine and Public Health,Health, Community,Health, Public
D005457	Fluoridation	Practice of adding fluoride to water, and other food or beverages, for the purpose of preventing DENTAL CARIES.	Milk Fluoridation,Salt Fluoridation,Water Fluoridation,Fluoridation, Milk,Fluoridation, Salt,Fluoridation, Water
D006113	United Kingdom	Country in northwestern Europe including Great Britain and the northern one-sixth of the island of Ireland, located between the North Sea and north Atlantic Ocean. The capital is London.	Great Britain,Isle of Man
D006801	Humans	Members of the species Homo sapiens.	Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D049673	History, 20th Century	Time period from 1901 through 2000 of the common era.	20th Century History,20th Cent. History (Medicine),20th Cent. History of Medicine,20th Cent. Medicine,Historical Events, 20th Century,History of Medicine, 20th Cent.,History, Twentieth Century,Medical History, 20th Cent.,Medicine, 20th Cent.,20th Cent. Histories (Medicine),20th Century Histories,Cent. Histories, 20th (Medicine),Cent. History, 20th (Medicine),Century Histories, 20th,Century Histories, Twentieth,Century History, 20th,Century History, Twentieth,Histories, 20th Cent. (Medicine),Histories, 20th Century,Histories, Twentieth Century,History, 20th Cent. (Medicine),Twentieth Century Histories,Twentieth Century History
D055094	Evidence-Based Dentistry	An approach or process of practicing oral health care that requires the judicious integration of systematic assessments of clinical relevant scientific evidence, relating to the patient's oral and medical condition and history, with the dentist's clinical expertise and the patient's treatment needs and preferences. (from J Am Dent Assoc 134: 689, 2003)	Dentistry, Evidence-Based,Dentistries, Evidence-Based,Dentistry, Evidence Based,Evidence Based Dentistry,Evidence-Based Dentistries