Dental caries is a major public health problem in most industrialised countries, affecting 60% to 90% of school children. Community water fluoridation (CWF) is currently practised in about 25 countries: health authorities consider it to be a key strategy for preventing dental caries. CWF is of interest to health professionals, policymakers and the public. 

We updated a Cochrane review first published in 2015. This latest evidence, focusing on contemporary evidence about the effects of initiation or cessation of CWF on dental caries, was published in the Cochrane Library in October 2024.

You can read a plain language summary of this review here. The full text is available in the Cochrane Library: Iheozor-Ejiofor Z, Walsh T, Lewis SR, Riley P, Boyers D, Clarkson JE, Worthington HV, Glenny A-M, O'Malley L. Water fluoridation for the prevention of dental caries. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2024, Issue 10. Art. No.: CD010856. Doi:10.1002/14651858.pub3