Objective: To review the safety and efficacy of fluoridation of drinking water.
Design: Search of 25 electronic databases and world wide web. Relevant journals hand searched; further information requested from authors. Inclusion criteria were a predefined hierarchy of evidence and objectives. Study validity was assessed with checklists. Two reviewers independently screened sources, extracted data, and assessed validity.
Main outcome measures: Decayed, missing, and filled primary/permanent teet
Excerpts:
INTRODUCTION
Fluoridation of drinking water has been a subject of controversy for decades. Over the past 50 years, the incidence of dental caries (cavities) has declined considerably in the United States, an important health advance that most scientists attribute principally to increased access to fluoridated water and dental products. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, approximately 132 million Americans now receive drinking water that contains fluorid
