Marking 68 years of community water fluoridation, the American Dental Association (ADA), the Association of State and Territorial Dental Directors and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently honored 112 states and communities with 2012 Fluoridation Awards at the National Oral Health Conference at the Von Braun Center in Huntsville, Ala.
The Fluoridation Merit Award honored the Children’s Dental Health Project and the Campaign for Dental Health for their efforts to maintain and expand the benefit of community water fluoridation.
The Children’s Dental Health Project developed the Fluoride Legislative User Information Database, or FLUID, the first publicly available database on the legal status of community water fluoridation in the United States. A comprehensive resource containing historical information on legal cases decided by U.S. courts, FLUID offers current information on federal and state policies about fluoridation. FLUID is often used by fluoride supporters as an authoritative resource to defend and promote community water fluoridation.
The Children’s Dental Health Project worked with the ADA, the City University of New York/Hunter College School of Nursing and the CDC Division of Oral Health to develop the resource. With continuing support by the CDC, it is now maintained in partnership with the American University’s Washington College of Law.
The Campaign for Dental Health was developed and launched by the Pew Children’s Dental Campaign to ensure every American has access to community water fluoridation. Oral health advocates, health professionals and scientists volunteer together to preserve the nation’s gains in oral health by providing reliable scientific information about oral health and community water fluoridation.
In April, U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Regina Benjamin officially endorsed community water fluoridation as “one of the most effective choices communities can make to prevent health problems while actually improving the oral health of their citizens.” The American Dental Association has supported fluoridation since 1950. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has proclaimed community water fluoridation as one of 10 great public health achievements of the 20th century.
A total of 16 communities in seven states were recognized with Community Fluoridation Initiative Awards for passing water fluoridation initiatives during 2012. Another 16 communities in 12 states received Fluoridation Reaffirmation Awards for defeating initiatives to discontinue fluoridation or approving initiatives to maintain fluoridation. Seventy-one water systems in 21 states received National Flouridation Fifty Year Awards for achieving a half a century of continuous water fluoridation in 2012.
Additional Awards include the following:
- Arkansas received the State Fluoridation Initiative Award for having the greatest increase in population receiving fluoridated water in 2012.
- Massachusetts, Maine, Nebraska, Nevada, North Dakota and Virginia received State Fluoridation Quality Awards for maintaining the quality of fluoridation and optimal fluoride levels.
- Michigan and Delaware received Healthy People 2010/2020 awards.
If interested in a complete list of winners, visit: http://www.ada.org/sections/advocacy/pdfs/AwardsBrochure13.pdf
For more information you can visit our site at: www.ada.org or you can follow the ADA on Twitter @AmerDentalAssn
About the American Dental Association
The not-for-profit ADA is the nation’s largest dental association, representing 157,000 dentist members. The premier source of oral health information, the ADA has advocated for the public’s health and promoted the art and science of dentistry since 1859. The ADA’s state-of-the-art research facilities develop and test dental products and materials that have advanced the practice of dentistry and made the patient experience more positive. The ADA Seal of Acceptance long has been a valuable and respected guide to consumer dental care products. The monthly The Journal of the American Dental Association (JADA) is the ADA’s flagship publication and the best-read scientific journal in dentistry. For more information about the ADA, visit www.ada.org. For more information on oral health, including prevention, care and treatment of dental disease, visit the ADA’s consumer website www.MouthHealthy.org.
