Access to fluoridated water

Data table

Note

Numbers and percentages concern population in towns with more than 1,000 inhabitants in NSW.

Source

The NSW Health Water Unit and Centre for Oral Health Strategy Water Fluoridation Database, NSW Department of Health. Centre for Epidemiology and Research, NSW Department of Health.

Commentary

Water fluoridation is the most cost-effective, equitable and safe means of providing protection from tooth decay (ADA, 2004; ARCPOH, 2006). In 2008, 7.3% of the total population in NSW did not have access to fluoridated community water supplies, or 6.5% of the population living in towns with more than 1,000 inhabitants.

In 2008, the North Coast Area Health Service has the largest proportion of the population (53.3% of those living in towns with more than 1,000 inhabitants) that do not have access to fluoridated community water supplies, followed by Greater Southern (20.4%) and Greater Western Area Health Services (10.0%).

Concerned local councils in the most affected health areas had either already voted for fluoridation or had been directed to fluoridate, and as a consequence the proportion of the population with no access to fluoridated community water supplies will decrease in 2009. Nevertheless, the North Coast Area Health Service will still have almost 10.0% of its population without access in 2009.

Overall, it is anticipated that by 2009, only 3.6% of the total population of NSW and 3.1% of the NSW population living in towns with more than 1,000 inhabitants will remain using unfluoridated community water supplies.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention rates water fluoridation as one of 'Top 10 Public Health Measures of the Twentieth Century' alongside the eradication of poliomyelitis and smallpox (CDC, 1999). In the 1950's, prior to water fluoridation, dental caries levels in children in NSW were one of the highest in the world, with children aged 12 years having a mean of 9-10 decayed, missing and filled teeth (9-10 DMFT) (Barnard, 1956). In 2000, the results in NSW were the best in the developed countries at 0.73 DMFT (AIHW, 2003; OECD, 2006). This dramatic decline in dental caries has been attributed mainly to water fluoridation (70%), the use of fluoride toothpaste (26%) and to fluoride tablets (2%)(Spencer, 1986). Despite the availability of fluoride toothpaste, children living in unfluoridated areas have significantly higher dental decay rates than those living in fluoridated areas (Armfield et al., 2007).

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For more information

Armfield JM, Slade GD & Spencer AJ. Water fluoridation and children's dental health: The Child Dental Health Survey, Australia 2002. Cat. no. DEN 170. Dental statistics and research series no. 36. Canberra: Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, 2007. Available at www.adelaide.edu.au/spdent/dsru/pub_frame.html

Australian Dental Association. Policy statement: Community oral health promotion. Fluoride use. ADA, 2004.

Australian Research Centre for Population Oral Health (ARCPOH), Dental School, The University of Adelaide, South Australia. The Use of Fluorides in Australia: Guidelines. Australian Dental Journal, 2006. 51: (2) 195-199.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Fluoridation of drinking water to prevent dental caries. MMWR, 1999. 48(41): 933-40.

Spencer AJ. Contribution of fluoride vehicles to change in caries severity in Australian adolescents. Community Dent Oral Epidemiol , 1986. 14:238-41.

Armfield J. Public Water Fluoridation and Dental Health in New South Wales. Aust New Zealand Journal of Public Health, 2005. 29: 477-483.

Australian Institute of Health and Welfare Dental Statistics and Research Unit. Child Dental Health Survey. New South Wales 2000.. Adelaide: AIHW, 2003.

Barnard PD. Dental survey of state schoolchildren in NSW. January 1954 - June 1955. Special Report Series No 8. National Health and Medical Research Council, 1956.

Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. OECD health data 2006. Paris: OECD, 2006.

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Copyright notice

This work is copyright NSW Department of Health, 2006. It may be reproduced in whole or in part, subject to the inclusion of an acknowledgement of the source. Commercial usage or sale is prohibited.

Suggested citation

Population Health Division. The health of the people of New South Wales - Report of the Chief Health Officer. Sydney: NSW Department of Health. Available at: www.health.nsw.gov.au/publichealth/chorep/. Accessed (insert date of access).

Produced by

Centre for Epidemiology and Research, Population Health Division, NSW Department of Health.

Last updated on 15 December 2008