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Home > World Situation World Situation
About 60 countries have topped up the level of fluoride in their water, covering hundreds of millions of people. However for various reasons, some political, some logistical, some countries do not. Many countries are without public water supplies, many have more life-threatening health needs and many lack the funds to set up fluoridation systems.
In 1994, the World Health Organization (WHO) published a report reaffirming its support of fluoridation as safe and effective in preventing tooth decay.
In line with the WHO report countries are introducing and extending fluoridation. In September 2000, South Africa introduced regulations requiring every water provider to practise fluoridation unless exempted in writing by the Director-General. As of December 1999, it is mandatory in Israel for communities of more than 5000 people to fluoridate (already more than half of Israel is fluoridated).
The US continues to introduce fluoridation to new communities and California has made it compulsory for communities of 100,000 or greater. The US is also producing fluoridated bottled water because of the demand for it.
No country has discontinued or refused to adopt fluoridation because it was proven harmful in any way.
The American Dental Association stated in 1999 that ‘no European country has specifically imposed a "ban" on fluoridation, it has simply not been implemented for a variety of technical or political reasons'.
In some European countries fluoride is added to salt (this is not as effective as water fluoridation and is not being recommended for New Zealand) to help prevent dental decay rather than adding it to water (for example, France, Germany and Switzerland). Other parts of Europe fluoridate their water (for example, Ireland and the United Kingdom). Fluoridation is not practical in some European countries because of the complexity of their water systems.
Countries with drinking-water supplies available with fluoride levels adjusted, or naturally, at 0.7ppm or above include:
World Situation, Compared to national statistics some communities within Southland and Otago have very poor oral health. Examples include preschoolers facing baby teeth extractions under anaesthesia, primary school students with multiple fillings and adults living with ongoing, chronic dental pain that may prevent them working. Otago and Southland District Health Boards have asked local councils to hold referenda to add fluoride into the drinking water supplies of these communities. Fluoride is recommended by the World Health Organisation and New Zealand’s Ministry of Health as a means of improving oral health. World, Situation, Vote, fluoride, southland, otago, new zealand, referenda, add, health, oral, teeth, water, dental, elections, campaign, councils, communities, drinking, | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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