Community water fluoridation is the practice of adding a small amount of fluoride to the water supply. It has been heralded as 1 of the top 10 public health achievements of the 20th century by the CDC.Community water fluoridation is a safe, efficient, and cost-effective way to prevent tooth decay and has been shown to reduce tooth decay by 29%.It prevents tooth decay through the provision of low levels of fluoride ex- posure to the teeth over time and provides both topical and systemic exposure. It is estimated that every dollar invested in water fluoridation saves $38 in dental treatment costs (http://www.cdc.gov/fluoridation/bene- fits/). Currently, although more than 210 million Americans live in commu- nities with optimally fluoridated water, there are more than 70 million others with public water systems who do not have access to fluoridated water.33 The fluoridation status of a community water supply can be determined by contacting the local water department
or accessing the Web site My Water’s Fluoride (http://apps.nccd.cdc.gov/MWF/ Index.asp).