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Teams of investigators from the University of Melbourne and New South Wales Health have reported the results of a project investigating the impact of changing dental needs on the cost
savings from community water fluoridation in Melbourne, Australia. They were able to track how cost savings from water fluoridation vary over time for any given age group and level of dental
decay. Central to the project was their ability to take into consideration the effects of an aging population, lower rates of edentulism, and consequent higher rates of treatment need for
the gums and supporting tissues of the teeth. The findings suggest that, even in an era of declining levels of dental decay and supplementary sources of fluoride, water fluoridation
continues to be a cost-effective preventive measure, with annual per person savings ranging from just over AUS$56 in the 1970s to just under AUS$18 in the 1990s. At each of the time points
analysed, however, the cost savings from water fluoridation were shown to decline with age, largely as a result of a plateau in the amount of new tooth decay experienced, lower averted costs
of decayed surfaces experienced later in life and estimates of higher periodontal treatment needs compared with those of younger age groups. The authors of the report, _Impact of Changing
Dental Needs on Cost Savings from Fluoridation_, by A.C. Campain, M.V. Morgan, R.J. Marino, and C. Wright say the research lends strong support to the continued application of community
water fluoridation as an efficacious and cost-saving public health measure. However, as the trend toward greater tooth retention in an aging population continues, the prospect that the
cost-saving benefits of water fluoridation might be offset to some degree by the potentially high costs of periodontal treatment needs later in life and highlights the need for public dental
health professionals and policy-makers to begin to give consideration to community-based strategies which will be effective in containing these costs. The report was presented at the 84th
General Session of the International Association for Dental Research. RIGHTS AND PERMISSIONS Reprints and permissions ABOUT THIS ARTICLE CITE THIS ARTICLE Water fluoridation is
cost-effective. _Br Dent J_ 201, 74 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.bdj.4813860 Download citation * Published: 22 July 2006 * Issue Date: 22 July 2006 * DOI:
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