| Title |
Community Water Fluoridation At the Levels Recommended By The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Have Not Been Shown To Have An Effect On Children’s Neurological Development |
| Clinical Question |
Does community water fluoridation at levels recommended by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services have an effect on children’s neurological development? |
| Clinical Bottom Line |
Community water fluoridation at the levels recommended by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has not been shown to have an effect on children’s neurological development. This is supported by a prospective study of a general population that assessed fluoride exposure before the age of 5, and then assessed participants IQ at ages 7, 9, 11, 13, and then again at age 38. These findings show that CWF is safe in regards to neurological development, and it remains an effective and affordable way of reducing dental caries. |
| Best Evidence |
|
| PubMed ID |
Author / Year |
Patient Group |
Study type
(level of evidence) |
| 24832151 | Broadbent/2015 | 1037 patients followed from age 3 to 38. | Prospective Cohort Study | | Key results | In children who lived in community water fluoridated areas before the age of 5, there was no association shown between their fluoride intake and their neurological development. This was demonstrated by there being no significant differences between the IQ tests of the residents who lived within CWF areas, and those who did not. | |
| Evidence Search |
Community water fluoridation and IQ |
Comments on
The Evidence |
Participants represented the full range of socio-economic status and almost all of them lived within the Dunedin metropolitan area. 95.4 % of the participants who were still living completed the last IQ evaluation at age 38. Examiners were blind to the participants’ previous IQ scores and their fluoride exposure. Multiple variables that affect IQ scores were considered as confounders in the study. |
| Applicability |
Fluoride level exposure was measured at rates consistent with United States water fluoridation standards. CWF is inexpensive and is feasible for many communities to implement. |
| Specialty |
(Public Health) |
| Keywords |
Water fluoridation, IQ, Neurological development
|
| ID# |
3055 |
| Date of submission |
05/04/2016 |
| E-mail |
stewartsc@livemail.uthscsa.edu |
| Author |
Scott Stewart |
| Co-author(s) |
|
| Co-author(s) e-mail |
|
| Faculty mentor |
David Cappelli, DMD, MPH, PhD |
| Faculty mentor e-mail |
Cappelli.uthscsa.edu |
| |
|
Basic Science Rationale
(Mechanisms that may account for and/or explain the clinical question, i.e. is the answer to the clinical question consistent with basic biological, physical and/or behavioral science principles, laws and research?) |
| None available | |
 |
Comments and Evidence-Based Updates on the CAT
(FOR PRACTICING DENTISTS', FACULTY, RESIDENTS and/or STUDENTS COMMENTS ON PUBLISHED CATs) |
| None available | |