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Dental Health

Why Public Water Fluoridation is Good for New Jersey
By Robert A. Hersh, DDS

According to former US Surgeon General Dr. David Satcher, tooth decay is the  number one chronic childhood disease in America. Dental cavities are five times more likely to occur in children than asthma. Unlike asthma, however, tooth decay is largely a preventable disease regardless of where you live, how much money your family makes or your access to health care. How? Simple: By drinking fluoridated water at the recommended therapeutic levels. 

Fluoride is the same ingredient found in most toothpastes. It’s the same material dentists apply to your teeth when you get a cleaning. It’s the same substance pediatricians and dentists prescribe for children in areas without fluoride. It’s the same substance that appears naturally in many rivers, private drinking wells, and water aquifers. And it is the same substance that, when added to water, is considered one of the 10 greatest public health strategies of the 20th Century, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

In fact, the CDC believes so strongly in water fluoridation that it is promoting its benefits to local governments across the country and encouraging them to fluoridate the local public water supplies. The CDC’s intention is to achieve at least 75 percent water fluoridation of the nation’s public water supply by 2010. It has regularly studied the issue since the early 1940s, and it has concluded that it is safe and very effective in preventing tooth decay. 

Today, 66 percent of Americans with access to public water drink fluoridated water at the recommended therapeutic level. Many doctors and scientific experts believe that fluoridating the public water supply is as important as receiving vaccinations.

The CDC isn’t the only group which vigorously supports and advocates for water fluoridation. At present, more than 100 well known organizations including the American Dental Association, the American Medical Association, the American Public Health Association, the National Kidney Foundation, the World Health Organization, the American Cancer Society, the American Water Works Association, the National Association of City and County Health Officials as well as the last four US Surgeons General endorse water fluoridation.

With all of this overwhelming support for water fluoridation, and the fact that New Jersey is typically a leader on healthcare-related issues, one would expect New Jersey to be leading the way on this important health care strategy. Sadly, however, it is not.

Currently, New Jersey ranks 49th in the percentage of state populations that drink fluoridated public water at the CDC’s recommended therapeutic level of one part per million. Shockingly, 80 percent—7.4 million New Jerseyans—do not receive fluoridated water from the public drinking supplies. Equally shocking is that most of New Jersey’s largest cities, including Camden, Newark, Jersey City and Paterson, do not fluoridate their water at the recommended levels. This disproportionately affects the poorest populations in New Jersey who already are fighting an uphill battle when it comes to access to quality healthcare.

Nearly every state in America provides more fluoridated water to its citizens than New Jersey. In 13 states and the District of Columbia, at least 90 percent of the residents drink fluoridated water. Eleven states have mandated water fluoridation. And, 44 of the 50 largest cities in America  provide fluoridated water to their residents. More than 60 countries also fluoridate their public water. This benefits more than a quarter of a billion people worldwide. 

Study after study has concluded that water fluoridation is safe and effective. Towns, counties, states and countries with water fluoridation initiatives have seen dramatic decreases in the number of decayed teeth in their respective populations.   

By extrapolating from the CDC’s estimates, fluoridating New Jersey’s public water supply would net an estimated savings of $108 million annually, or more than $2 million per week, in dental treatment costs. 

In 2006, America celebrated the 60th anniversary of its first water fluoridation initiative. This year, New Jersey’s political leaders will have the extraordinary opportunity to fluoridate the water supply in our state. It’s high time that New Jersey follows the lead of practically every other state in this country and acts to fluoridate the water supply. The oral health of New Jersey depends on it.

Find out more about the benefits of water fluoridation by visiting the CDC’s Web site at www.cdc.gov/OralHealth/topics/fluoridation.htm.  

Robert A. Hersh, DDS is President of the New Jersey Dental Assoc.