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Expert Evaluation by Michael Waalkes, Ph.D. <br /> The original scientific reports that linked the natural level of fluoride in drinking-water with <br /> reduced dental caries started appearing in the 1930s followed soon after by reports on cities adjusting <br /> the concentration of fluoride in drinking water to improve dental health in the 1940s. Since these initial <br /> successes, hundreds of millions of people worldwide have consumed water supplemented with fluoride <br /> and numerous scientific studies from various countries have shown a remarkable consistency in <br /> associating a substantial reduction in dental caries with consumption of fluorinated water. The United <br /> Nations (UN) World Health Organization (WHO) recently convened an expert panel to review the <br /> scientific literature on fluoride supplementation and oral health and concluded that studies <br /> overwhelmingly show the effectiveness of supplemental water fluoridation in reduction of tooth decay, <br /> taking into account an evidence-based approach and using the findings of more recent systematic <br /> reviews to reinforce the evidence (O'Mullane et al., 20161). <br /> Additionally, fluoride is considered a nutrient mineral and is included in the Dietary Reference <br /> Intake (DRI) system, a system of nutritional recommendations developed by the Institute of Medicine, <br /> which is part of US National Academy of Sciences. Within the DRI system a level of nutrient fluoride <br /> intake is set to prevent deficiency and the Academy recognizes that fluoride deficiency manifests <br /> primarily as an increase in dental cavities. In fact, the ability of fluoridation of water to prevent tooth <br /> decay is profound enough to be considered by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) <br /> as "one of 10 great public health achievements of the 20th century". Indeed, in 2007 the UN's WHO <br /> World Health Assembly passed a resolution that universal access to fluoride supplementation for <br /> prevention of dental caries was to be part of the basic right to human health. These institutes represent <br /> some of the world's leading scientific, medical and public health organizations. They are all voicing <br /> 46 <br />