Abstract
Background:
Although community water fluoridtion (CWF) results in a range of potential contaminant exposures, little attention has been given to many of the possible impacts. A central argument for CWF is its cost-effectiveness. The U.S. Government states that $1 spent on CWF saves $38 in dental treatment costs.
Objective:
To examine the reported cost-effectiveness of CWF.
Methods:
Methods and underlying data from the primary U.S. economic evaluation of CWF are analyzed and corrected calculations are described. Other recent economic evaluations are also examined.
Results:
Recent economic evaluations of CWF contain defective estimations of both costs and benefits. Incorrect handling of dental treatment costs and flawed estimates of effectiveness lead to overestimated benefits. The real-world costs to water treatment plants and communities are not reflected.
Conclusions:
Minimal correction reduced the savings to $3 per person per year (PPPY) for a best-case scenario, but this savings is eliminated by the estimated cost of treating dental fluorosis.
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Influence of Dental Fluorosis among Children of Libya.
Background and aims. Dental fluorosis may be a condition brought on by societal inequality in access to clean water. The socially disadvantaged rural communities in fluoride-endemic areas lack a regular irrigation system, and their primary source of drinking water is groundwater that naturally contains fluoride, are most affected by this
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A pilot study of esthetic perceptions of dental fluorosis vs. selected other dental conditions
The prevalence of fluorosis has increased over the past fifty years, and with this increase, esthetic concerns pertaining to fluorosis should also be taken into consideration. Canadian, Australian, and British studies have explored perceptions concerning enamel fluorosis, but no studies in this area have been published from the United States.
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Osteo-dental fluorosis in domestic horses and donkeys in Rajasthan, India.
Chronic fluoride (F) intoxication in the form of osteo-dental fluorosis was observed in 23 domestic equus animals, 9 to 23 years old, including 14 horses (Equus caballus), and 9 donkeys (E. asinus) living in F endemic areas of Dungarpur district, Rajasthan, India. The mean F concentration in the drinking water
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The effects of chronic high fluoride levels on forming enamel in the rat.
Sixty-gramme rats were given either 0, 75, 100 or 150 parts/10(6) fluoride in their drinking water. After five weeks, the fluoride, the phosphorus and the protein contents of the enamel were compared in control and experimental animals at three stages of enamel development. The mineral content was reduced in pigmented
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The influence of fluoride in drinking water on the incidence of fluorosis and intelligence of elementary school students in Palu City.
Abstract Objective This research aims to know the influence of fluoride in drinking water towards Fluorosis and the Intelligence Level of Elementary School Students in Palu City. Method This cross-sectional study was performed through descriptive analysis on 100 students aged 6–12 years old selected by stratified random sampling from two different areas with different
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Diagnostic Criteria for Dental Fluorosis: The Thylstrup-Fejerskov (TF) Index
The traditional criteria (the "Dean Index") for diagnosing dental fluorosis was developed in the first half of the 20th century by H. Trendley Dean. While the Dean Index is still widely used in surveys of fluorosis -- including the CDC's national surveys of fluorosis in the United States -- dental
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Dental Fluorosis in the U.S. 1950-2004
Before the widespread use of fluoride in dentistry, dental fluorosis was rarely found in western countries. Today, with virtually every toothpaste now containing fluoride, and most U.S. water supplies containing fluoride chemicals, dental fluorosis rates have reached unprecedented levels. In the 1950s, it was estimated that only 10% of children in
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Dental Fluorosis Is a "Hypo-mineralization" of Enamel
Teeth with fluorosis have an increase in porosity in the subsurface enamel ("hypomineralization"). The increased porosity of enamel found in fluorosis is a result of a fluoride-induced impairment in the clearance of proteins (amelogenins) from the developing teeth. Despite over 50 years of research, the exact mechanism by which fluoride impairs amelogin
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Moderate/Severe Dental Fluorosis
In its "moderate" and severe forms, fluoride causes a marked increase in the porosity of the enamel. After eruption into mouth, the porous enamel of moderate to severe fluorosis readily takes up stain, creating permanent brown and black discolorations of the teeth. In addition to extensive staining, teeth with moderate to severe fluorosis are more prone to attrition and wear - leading to pitting, chipping, and decay.
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Community Fluorosis Index (CFI)
The current Community Fluorosis Index for U.S. adolescents as a whole (from both fluoridated and non-fluoridated areas) is roughly 5 times higher than the CFI health authorities predicted for fluoridated areas when fluoridation first began. It is also higher than the CFI that the NIDR found in fluoridated areas back in the 1980s. It is readily apparent, therefore, that children are ingesting far more fluoride than was the case in the 1950s, and even as recently as the 1980s.
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