Dental cavities are one health problem that’s practically a rite of passage in the United States: Ninety-four percent of American adults who have any natural teeth have had at least one cavity in their lifetime. [1] At the same time, cavity control is one of the great public health success stories of the 20th century. The introduction of fluoride toothpaste, fluoridated community drinking water and new topical fluoride treatments like gels, foams and sealants have significantly reduced the prevalence of cavities, especially among children, in the past 50 years.

The Jury Is In ...

Fluoride’s contribution to cavity prevention has been confirmed by numerous individual studies and several systematic evidence reviews, which calculate the exact decline in decayed, missing or filled teeth under specific fluoride treatments. These reviews benefit from the fact that many fluoride studies follow the \"gold standard\" of randomized controlled treatments or contain large numbers of participants that can be followed for multiple years.

... But Questions Remain

Despite the long history of fluoride treatment, questions remain about how well certain types of fluoride perform in comparison to others, how big of an effect fluoridation has had on adult cavities and whether fluoride is the best answer for \"high-risk\" groups that seem prone to cavities even in communities with fluoridated water.

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