Since 1972, community water fluoridation programs have not been practiced in Japan. Risk perception among the population plays an important role in the implementation of water fluoridation programs. The oral health behavior of Japanese children has changed, especially due to recent increases among children in the use of fluoridated products and fluoride applications by dentists. The purpose of ...

OBJECTIVE To examine the effect of water fluoridation, both artificial and natural, on dental decay, after socioeconomic deprivation was controlled for. DESIGN Ecological study based on results from the NHS dental surveys in 5 year olds in 1991-2 and 1993-4 and Jarman underprivileged area scores from the 1991 census. SETTING Electoral wards in three areas: Hartlepool (naturally fluoridated)...

The recently published systematic review of water fluoridation by the Cochrane Oral Health Group (Iheozor-Ejiofor et al., 2015) concludes that “the initiation of water fluoridation results in a 35% reduction in dmft and a 26% reduction in DMFT compared to the median control group value” and that “there were also increases in the percentage of caries-free children of 15% in deciduous dentition a...