Expanding Access to Fluoridated Water

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has created a new technology that could expand access to fluoridated water in rural areas of the United States.

The new fluoridation method is a tablet that can dissolve in a small amount of water to add fluoride to it.

The goal of this method, the CDC said, is to roll it out to more than 32,000 small water utilities in rural areas so that they can provide fluoridated water to area residents.

Fluoride helps to reduce cavities and keep teeth strong. This new technology is meant to move forward health officials' goal of providing fluoridated water to 77.1 percent of the US population by 2030, the CDC noted.

Currently, around 35 percent of US residents do not have access to fluoridated water, according to the CDC. This issue often affects lower-income rural communities, in which children are two or three times more likely to have cavities that are untreated.

"Community water fluoridation is the most efficient and cost-effective way to deliver fluoride to everyone in a community, regardless of their age, income, or education," according to the CDC in a press release.

To combat lack of access to fluoridated water, the CDC began funding innovation in this area back in 2013. KC Industries (KCI) of Mulberry, Florida, proposed the idea of a dissolvable fluoride tablet in 2014 and received a grant from the CDC to produce it.

The end result was this new system, which consists of both the tablets and a feeder system.

The system was designed to be economical for smaller utilities that serve 50 to 10,000 residents. According to the CDC, utilities of this size serve roughly 19 million people in the US, mostly in rural areas.

If you are concerned about your child's dental health, reach out to your family health care provider or dentist.