THE EVANSTON DENTAL CARIES STUDY

III. A PRELIMINARY STUDY OF THE DISTRIBUTION OF FLUORINE IN COMMUNAL WATER SUPPLIES IN THE UNITED STATES

¹ Walter G. Zoller Memorial Dental Clinic, University of Chicago, Chicago, Ill., and Department of Health, Evanston, Ill.

The municipalities having a high fluorine content are found in nine states. with the greatest number in Texas and the next greatest number in South Dakota. There are approximately 5,646,897 people in the United States having access to a communal water supply containing fluorine in the amount of 0.5 ppm or more (Table VIII). This is approximately 4.307 per cent of the entire population of the United States. A total of 2,195,115 people are in the fluorine concentration bracket of 0.9 to 2.0 parts per million. In the 2.1 to 3.0 ppm bracket, there are 626,177 persons. In a still higher concentration of 3.1 to 5.0 ppm, there are 127,243 people (Table IX). Municipalities of high fluorine content, 5.1 ppm and higher, number only twenty-five and the number of people exposed to a high level of fluorine is not great, namely, 40,151. More detailed water analyses should be conducted to determine the fluorine content of water supplied to children during the years in which tooth formation is taking place.

The communities in the high fluorine areas, though few in number and low in population, should either (1) consider changing the source of their water supply, (2) remove excess fluorine by chemical means, or (3) reduce the fluorine content by adding water of lower fluorine concentration to arrive at a level which is not harmful and yet will provide protection against tooth decay.

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