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In 2012, national expenditure for dental services reached a staggering $111 billion.Dean went on to suggest that a fluoride concentration in the water supply of about one milligram per liter (1 mg/L) or 1 part per million (1ppm) -- roughly equivalent to a grain of salt in a gallon of water -- is associated with substantially fewer cavities.Extensive scientific evidence conclusively shows that water fluoridation and fluoride toothpastes substantially reduce dental caries, tooth decay, and are cost-effective.While fluoride is firmly established as an integral part of oral health, its role in public health still remains shrouded in some controversy.Yet many children and adults still go without measures that have been proven effective in preventing oral and dental diseases, and reduce dental care costs.How the Story Started Over a century ago, in 1901 Dr. Frederick McKay arrived in Colorado Springs to start his dental practice, and began to investigate why so many of his patients had a mysterious brown staining of their teeth.

In 2012, national expenditure for dental services reached a staggering $111 billion. Yet many children and adults still go without measures that have been proven effective in preventing oral and dental diseases, and reduce dental care costs. For example, over 100 million Americans still do not have access to water that contains enough fluoride to protect their teeth.

Extensive scientific evidence conclusively shows that water fluoridation and fluoride toothpastes substantially reduce dental caries, tooth decay, and are cost-effective. In fact, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has named water fluoridation as one of the ten most important public health measures of the 20th century.

While fluoride is firmly established as an integral part of oral health, its role in public health still remains shrouded in some controversy.

How the Story Started
Over a century ago, in 1901 Dr. Frederick McKay arrived in Colorado Springs to start his dental practice, and began to investigate why so many of his patients had a mysterious brown staining of their teeth. McKay spent thirty years investigating and in the process found that the strangely stained or “mottled” teeth were also decay free. He went on to establish drinking water as the cause. Around this time, in 1931, H.V. Churchill, a chemist working for the Alcoa Company, concerned about a possible link between bauxite, an aluminum ore, and tooth staining, analyzed water from several associated areas and found that fluoride was the common factor.

Teeth whitening before.
Dr. H. Trendley Dean studied fluoride in 1931.
Also, in 1931 Dr. H. Trendley Dean, a dentist working for the U.S. Public Health Service, started to study the harmful effects of fluoride but instead, by 1950 demonstrated that fluoride in small amounts has large benefits and its side effects were negligible resulting in a mild staining or “mottling” of the teeth which came to be known as “fluorosis.”

Dean went on to suggest that a fluoride concentration in the water supply of about one milligram per liter (1 mg/L) or 1 part per million (1ppm) — roughly equivalent to a grain of salt in a gallon of water — is associated with substantially fewer cavities.