Community Water Fluoridation In Contemporary Populations

Monday, April 17, 2023

10:00 AM – 11:30 AM

Location: Seminole A&B

CE: 1.5

Speaker(s)

Michaela Goodwin, PhD, MPH, MSc, BSc

Lecturer Dental Public Health
University of Manchester
Deborah Moore, BDS, MFDS RCS (Eng), MSc, MPH, FDS (DPH) RCS (Eng)

Research Associate
University of Manchester
Lucy O'Malley

Senior Lecturer in Health Services Research
Division of Dentistry, School of Medical Sciences, University of Manchester

Moderator(s)

Gail Douglas

Disclosure(s):

Michaela Goodwin, PhD, MPH, MSc, BSc: Colgate-Palmolive (UK) Ltd: Grant/Research Support (Ongoing)

Deborah Moore, BDS, MFDS RCS (Eng), MSc, MPH, FDS (DPH) RCS (Eng): No financial relationships to disclose

Lucy O'Malley: No financial relationships to disclose

Gail Douglas: No financial relationships to disclose

The addition of fluoride to water supplies has been cited as one of ten great public health interventions. While dental caries remains a significant health issue worldwide, the prevalence of caries has reduced in many countries since the widespread introduction of fluoridated toothpaste. It is therefore important to consider the impact of water fluoridation in a contemporary population. This session will examine two of the latest, large scale studies exploring water fluoridation in both children (a prospective, comparative cohort study completed over 6 years) and adults (a retrospective cohort study analysing the NHS dental treatment claims data of 6.8 million people). The session will also include the updated Cochrane systematic review on water fluoridation.

The goal of this session is to share the latest research within water fluoridation, carried out on contemporary populations, discuss the implications of this research, what questions remain and the implications for policy and practice.

Learning Objectives:

Describe the existing gaps in the evidence base
Share findings from the CATFISH study, LOTUS study and updated Cochrane systematic review
Discuss the global implications of these works