A new study conducted by researchers at West Virginia University shows that fluoride added to the U.S. public water supplies have not reduced tooth decay.

The WVU Rural Health Research Center used federal statistics to conduct the study, according to a news release. The research concludes that children in urban areas who are more exposed to fluoridated water and dental care have as many cavities as children in rural areas who have less exposure to fluoridated water.

“For children’s dental health measures, it was found that fluoridation rates were not significantly related to the measures of either caries or overall condition of the teeth for urban or rural areas,” the researchers write in the report.

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