The Public Health Dental Hygienist

If left untreated, pulp infection can lead to abscess, destruction of bone, and systemic infection (Cawson et al. 1982; USDHHS 2000). Various sources have concluded that water fluoridation has been an effective method for preventing dental decay (Newbrun 1989; Ripa 1993; Horowitz 1996; CDC 2001; Truman et al. 2002). Water fluoridation is supported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as one of the 10 great public health achievements in the United States, because of its role in reducing tooth decay in children and tooth loss in adults (CDC 1999). Each U.S. Surgeon General has endorsed water fluoridation over the decades it has been practiced, emphasizing that “[a] significant advantage of water fluoridation is that all residents of a community can enjoy its protective benefit…. A person’s income level or ability to receive dental care is not a barrier to receiving fluoridation’s health benefits” (Carmona 2004). As noted earlier, this report does not evaluate nor make judgments about the benefits, safety, or efficacy of artificial water fluoridation. That practice is reviewed only in terms of being a source of exposure to

The prevention of caries is accomplished through the execution of a variety of measures, such as the fluoridation of the drinking water supply as well as the utilization of sealants and topical fluorides (Mouradian, Wehr, and Crall 2625). Despite the ease of preventability of tooth decay, it is one of the most common childhood chronic diseases, with more than half of the nation’s children having detectable caries (Mouradian, Wehr, and Crall 2625). Unfortunately, only 62% of water supplies are fluoridated, and underserved communities with low-income and minority families are usually the ones who are disproportionately affected (Mouradian, Wehr, and Crall 2626). Low-income individuals are generally less likely to seek preventative care, increasing their costs of neglected oral diseases and morbidity factors (Mouradian, Wehr, and Crall 2626). In addition, only one in five children who are covered by Medicaid are authorized for preventative oral healthcare, while restorative care is generally not even a consideration (Mouradian, Wehr, and Crall 2625).

Fluoridation of group drinking water is a main consideration in charge of the decrease in dental caries (tooth rot) . The historical backdrop of water fluoridation is a great case of clinical perception prompting epidemiologic examination and group based general wellbeing intercession. Albeit other fluoride-containing items are accessible, water fluoridation remains the most fair and practical strategy for conveying fluoride to all individuals from most groups, paying little respect to age, instructive achievement, or wage level.

Dental hygiene has had a significant impact on my life since I was a child. While most children would absolutely dread going to have their teeth cleaned, I was the kid always eager and ready to get to the dentist office. Throughout my journey of traveling through life, I have had several experiences that just called to me saying dental hygiene is definitely the career for me. Shadowing my own dental hygienists and having the privilege to be hands on and work with them was amazing. I enjoyed every minute from simply going over X-Rays to getting to know the patients personally.

(2015) and Dodd et al. (2014), Decker & Lipton (2015) have utilized data qualitatively, which verily served the purpose of gaining rich information on the perceptions of the respondents on dental care and health. This is also important to consider, especially since most of the studies are done quantitatively. Although both qualitative and quantitative studies are good on their own, both also have considerable weaknesses. It would be interesting as well to see more researches done in mixed method in order to fill in the weaknesses of these two. It will be also good to note if the study by Decker & Lipton (2015) can be replicated in different sample—such as other minority groups or a more heterogeneous sample. In this way, the scholar literature can be expanded by our knowledge about dental health that is growing to be a public health issue in United States and in other parts of the world. Given the qualitative data gathered by Decker & Lipton (2015), it will be helpful if better public policies are made to cater to these sensitive populations. This is also true in the suggestion of Dodd et al. (2014) on the widening of the Medicaid coverage among adults—and on the reconsideration not to deflouridate the water supply in New York in the study by Edelstein et al. (2015). As mentioned by Edelstein et al. (2015), removing the fluoride content in the New York water supply could only worsen the rates of early childhood carries. In the long run,

However, like many studies, this study has a few limitations. In this study, we got results which were far lower than expected, due to which we analyzed the proportion of the population who received fluoride applications instead of the mean number of fluoride applications. For dental home linkage since there was not enough data to analyze the ward-specific distribution of a mean number of days, we looked at the overall mean number of days for dental home linkage for those six referred patients. Also, for fluoride applications, we looked at the proportion of only fluoride varnishes applied by dentists, physicians, both and institution. We also looked at the proportions of only varnishes by provider type instead of the mean/the median number of varnish since we did not have information about unique providers which could give specific

According to World Health Organization data obtained from a study on 12 year old’s levels of tooth decay, fluoride has had very little effect, if any at all, on tooth decay. Countries such as Japan, Italy, and Iceland, who are non-fluoridated countries, actually have about the same level of tooth decay decrease as countries that have fluoridated water. Fluoride is considered a drug, according to the FDA, which means that it is a medical treatment. Medical treatments are not to be given unless the patient agrees to the treatment, therefore, placing fluoride into the public water supply violates informed consent seeing as how citizens are not given the opportunity to vote on the matter. Even if people could vote on the situation, not all people are going to agree with and since it is considered a drug, it

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recommendation for the optimal fluoride level in drinking water to prevent tooth decay have changed from 0.7 -1.2 milligrams per liter stablished in 1962 to 0.7 milligrams of fluoride per liter of water. This change was the result of a systematic reviews of the scientific evidence related community water fluoridation since it was incorporated in 1945. As a result of community water fluoridation there was an increase in the percentage of children who were caries-free and a significant decreases in the number of teeth or tooth surfaces with caries in both children and adult. The main reason to lower the recommendation was because Americans nowadays have more sources of fluoride than the ones

In those case the person have to control the levels of fluorides because in most cases the levels are greater than FDA/CDC recommend but most people don't treat their water to lower the amount of fluoridation. In the case cities water systems fluoridation is monitored and adjusted to meet certain standards, low enough not to cause harm yet high enough to aid in preventing tooth decay. Tooth decay is a big health problem if not controlled. Which one the the water supply systems did you read about that was causing the health

The current data suggests that water fluoridation disproportionately harms low-income and minority communities. In 2005, the Centers for Disease Control released the results of a national survey of dental fluorosis, which was conducted between 1999 and 2002. According to the results, in the U.S., African American children have significantly higher rates of dental fluorosis.2 Same observation has been made in other studies as well. Another study conduced in Indianapolis, Indiana, shows that “the prevalence of dental fluorosis in African American children (80.1%) was significantly higher than in Whites (62.5%). 3

Research has been showed that such an improvement is due to many factors that combined together. One of these factors is systemic water fluoridation, which has been announced to have a substantial impact on children dental health, alongside with topical fluoride that can be found in mouthwash, toothpaste, and fluoride supplements. In addition to better nutrition, rising standards of living, and better access to dental care 76.

"Naturally fluoridated areas preceded the field trials" since fluoride occurs naturally in some areas. (Oral) Communities with naturally occurring fluoride in water supplies were chosen for the trials, because results could be seen in these communities without so many years of testing. The studies showed that fluoride reduces dental caries to some extent depending on the amount of ingestion. These positive results lead to water fluoridation becoming a popular practice throughout civilized areas of the world. Putting a substance like fluoride in municipal water supplies is a good way to medicate many people at a time, since everybody drinking from the water supply would have a constant intake of fluoride. "The big advantage of water fluoridation is that it benefits all residents in a community regardless of age, socio-economic status, education or employment." (Kirshen)

My current event is on the highlight of the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) report on the reduction of tooth decay because of water fluoridation. The communities that do water fluoridation add a certain amount of fluoride to the water supply that they drink to prevent cavities (caries). The fluoride keeps the enamel strong and prevents tooth decay. It says that caries are one of the most common diseases in children. The studies showed that the amount of caries where substantially lower in the communities with water fluoridation and that the caries where increased when the water fluoridation

Teachers and parents in the United States and the world are not taking this preventable, chronic disease seriously enough. Doctors Bagramian, Garcia-Godoy, and Volpe found that “International research conferences convened over the past 25 years proudly reported that dental caries prevalence was declining on a global basis. However, during the past decade, the situation has reversed and scientific report after report signal an alarming increase in the global prevalence of dental caries in children and adults, primary and permanent teeth (2009).” Several countries including China fluoridate their water supply in efforts to decrease dental decay, much like the United States. The article also alludes to several recent summits where dental professionals from around the world met to discuss the growing prevalence of dental caries and planned efforts to reverse the trend. These meetings are important in creating a greater awareness on oral disease and the importance of prevention, but prevention starts at a young age. Teachers, daycare providers, parents, and others who have direct contact with children are the best individuals for dental professionals in which to

The researches presented various methods of determining oral health in different socio-economic in fluoridated and non-fluoridated regions. Armfield (2005) screened available data collected during routine examinations. Armfield`s focused on 5-6 and 11-12 year old. Caries amongst 5-6 years old socioeconomically underprivileged children from non-fluoridated areas exceeded those