Preventive benefit of access to fluoridated water for young adults.

Unlabelled: Water fluoridation has been repeatedly associated with lower caries experience in children but uncertainty still exists on strength and extent of the association into adulthood.

Objective: To analyze the preventive effect of access to fluoridated water on dental caries among young adults.

Methods: In 1991/92 a cross-section of South Australian children aged 5-17 were recruited.

Community effectiveness of public water fluoridation in reducing children's dental disease.

Objectives: Water fluoridation is one of the most effective public health programs of the past century. However, efforts to extend water fluoridation into currently non-fluoridated areas are often thwarted. Despite considerable evidence regarding the effectiveness of water fluoridation at an individual level, published national community-based studies are rare.

Risk perception and water fluoridation support and opposition in Australia.

Objectives: A considerable body of evidence confirms that water fluoridation effectively reduces the community incidence of dental caries with minimal side effects. However, proposals to introduce this widely endorsed public-health measure are often perceived as controversial, and public opinion frequently plays a role in the outcome. Despite this, the public's perception of risk associated with water fluoridation has not been well researched and remains poorly understood.