Overview For 65 years, community water fluoridation has been a safe and healthy way to effectively prevent tooth decay. CDC has recognized water fluoridation as one of 10 great public health achievements of the 20th century. Learn more detailed information on the following topics:

• The Benefits page provides information on the oral health benefits of fluoride to individuals and communities.
• The Safety page provides references and other information about fluoride safety.
• The Statistics page provides access to data sources such as the National Oral Health Surveillance System.
• The Engineering and Operations page provides information on water fluoridation technical assistance resources to state programs.
• Other Fluoride Products describes forms of fluoride delivery other than water fluoridation.
• Guidelines and Recommendations offers technical information on programs, and Fact Sheets covers specific topics. See also Journal Articles, Related Links, and FAQs.

CDC Honors 65 Years of Community Water Fluoridation
Community water fluoridation has been a safe and effective intervention for reducing tooth decay for 65 years. CDC’s Division of Oral Health honors its history and contribution to public health.

CDC Report on Community Water Fluoridation Progress
Community water fluoridation reaches a new high in the U.S. A new CDC report documents key information for public health officials and policymakers working to improve oral health and meet public health objectives.

Building Capacity to Fluoridate ( Word 1.2Mb)
This literature review was prepared as part of a qualitative research study about community referendums on community water fluoridation. This review provides history and background information for factors that may influence community decisions to adopt or reject fluoridation.

Surgeon General Support for Fluoridated Water
The last five Surgeons General have issued statements endorsing water fluoridation.

Nature's Way to Prevent Tooth Decay ( PDF–117K ) (Spanish version  PDF–492K)
CDC and the American Dental Association have partnered to provide this easy-to-read brochure that explains the benefits of community water fluoridation.

National Research Council (NRC)
The NRC’s report, Fluoride in Drinking Water: A Scientific Review of EPA’s Standard, provides the findings and recommendations of its review of EPA’s current maximum contaminant level goal for fluoride in drinking water.

Water Fluoridation and Osteosarcoma
A May 2006 study published in Cancer Causes and Control by Bassin et al. suggests an association between drinking fluoridated water and osteosarcoma in adolescent males. After reviewing the best available science, CDC continues to strongly support community water fluoridation

My Water's Fluoride
This component of the CDC Web site allows consumers in participating states to find basic information about their water system, including the number of people served by the system and the target fluoridation level.

One or more documents on this Web page are available in Microsoft® Word Format (DOC). You will need Word Viewer to view and print these documents.

One or more documents on this Web page is available in Portable Document Format (PDF). You will need Acrobat Reader to view and print these documents.

Page last reviewed: January 25, 2010
Page last updated: January 25, 2010
Content source: Division of Oral Health, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion