Tennessee Communities Receive CDC Fluoridation awards

NASHVILLE – The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has presented Water Fluoridation Quality Awards to 103 community water systems across Tennessee. Community water fluoridation is the adjustment of fluoride in drinking water to a level that is safe and effective for preventing tooth decay.

The CDC awards recognize communities that achieved excellence in community water fluoridation by maintaining a consistent level of fluoridated water throughout 2012. Tennessee was one of 32 states to have community water systems earning the awards.

“Fluoride is a naturally occurring mineral found in water,” said Suzanne Hayes, DDS, director of the Tennessee Department of Health Oral Health Services. “By adjusting the amount of fluoride in its water supply system, a community can help residents of all ages prevent tooth decay and have improved oral health. Research shows every $1 invested in fluoridation saves at least $38 in costs for future dental treatment.”

“We know preventing tooth decay has many important dividends, including helping more people keep their natural teeth and avoiding more costly restorative dental care later in life,” said TDH Commissioner John Dreyzehner, MD, MPH. “Having healthy teeth also heightens self-esteem, affects social interactions, impacts learning success and even enhances the ability to get a job.”   

Community water fluoridation has been recognized by the CDC as one of the ten great public health achievements of the 20th century. Nearly 73.9 percent, or 204 million people in the U.S., are now served by community water systems with optimally fluoridated tap water. CDC research also shows people in communities with fluoridated water have about 25 percent fewer cavities over their lifetime.

“Adjusting the amount of fluoride in water is the equivalent of food producers adding iodine to salt, folic acid to bread and vitamin D to milk,” Dreyzehner said. “Generations of adults and children otherwise may not have had access to the important benefits from these silent health protections.”  

Currently more than nine out of ten Tennesseans on community water systems have access to optimally fluoridated water. The first community water system in Tennessee to adjust its fluoride level was Milan, more than 62 years ago. Tennessee community water systems earning the CDC awards for 2012 include:

The American Dental Association has been a proponent of fluoridation since 1950. For more information from the ADA, visit www.ada.org/en/public-programs/advocating-for-the-public/fluoride-and-fluoridation. 

The mission of the Tennessee Department of Health is to protect, promote and improve the health and prosperity of people in Tennessee. TDH has facilities in all 95 counties and provides direct services for more than one in five Tennesseans annually as well as indirect services for everyone in the state, including emergency response to health threats, licensure of health professionals, regulation of health care facilities and inspection of food service establishments.  Learn more about TDH services and programs at http://health.state.tn.us/.