Water Fluoridation In Australia

Artificial water fluoridation has an intensified debate on the public health intervention and this decision made by several Australian politicians. The Australian dentists and other health professional’s agreement that adequate enamel fluoride is essential for dental caries. The children are the commonest contributors to dental caries include poor dental structure, poor oral hygiene, bacterial involvement and dietary factors etcetera. The most prevalent health problem in Australia is dental caries about 11 million decayed teeth documented newly in 2003. The Australian health system cost to oral diseases about 2.6 billion every year. This essay will state that water fluoridation is effective to treat dental problems. This will be supported

The largest source of fluoride is drinking water and other methods such as toothpaste, salt, and milk. Sometimes, it is found naturally in the Australian communities’ water supplies at exactly the recommended level to reduce dental decay. Dental disease in the form of dental caries has number of adverse outcomes in terms of substantial pain, reduced sleep capacity, social embarrassment and lowered self-esteem. It is one of the commonest diseases in modern society and it has considerable financial burden. The public health intervention most widely used to prevent these diseases is the water fluoridation. It improves dental health by being incorporated into the tooth crystalline structure to form fluorapatite, the solubility of this is less than hydroxypatite, and also inhibits the demineralisation process or decay (M. Jason, 2010, p.656). The fluoride water disturbs the enzymatic process of caries which is causing bacteria and impedes odontopathic organism’s attachment to teethes; fluoride retards progression of caries through these processes (public health ethics, 2012, p. 2). Since the1960’s the drinking water has been fluoridated in many parts of Australia. Community water fluoridation is the fluoride adjustment in drinking water to a level that protects teeth by preventing decay (M. Mike, 2012, p. 1). Moreover, the rural and regional

The effectiveness of fluoride water is greatest for deciduous dentition, less caries in fluoridated communities with a range of 30-60 percent. In the ages between 8-12, is about 20-40 percent less caries in the mixed dentition and 15-35 percent less caries in adolescents between the ages 14-17 (E Newburn, 1989, p. 279). Water fluoridation was associated with reduction in dental caries experience about 29% substantially, and across all age groups 32% in permanent caries experience. The early studies reported that decay experience reduction in almost about 50% or more. In the early 1970s the fluoridated toothpaste has very important source of fluoride. Thus the water fluoridation efficacy has decline in the recent years. Since the non-fluoridated decay value has fallen. While the reduction of relative disease still continue by 50%. Nonetheless, the public health professionals opinion involved, the reduction in value of decay is more than significant enough by fluoridation to warrant the policy continuation (M. Joe, 2005, p. 2). Despite the effectiveness of water fluoridation considerable evidence at an individual level are rare. The data were obtained for oral health from clinical examination, approximately about 128, 990 children from age