Water fluoridation, dentition status and bone health of older people in Ireland

Abstract

-Objective: To examine some of the potential benefits and risks of water fluoridation for older adults. Methods: This study used 'The Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing', to access a nationally representative sample of 4977 people aged 50 and older. The sample was used to estimate associations between the percentage of households in a respondent's local area with a currently fluoridated water supply and the probability of two binary outcomes: the respondent having all their own teeth and having normal bone density. Past exposure of individuals to fluoridated water was not assessed; the prevalence of fluoridated water in local supplies was obtained from the 2006 Census of Ireland. The Census data indicated that there was considerable variation in the proportion of households with fluoridated water supplies, especially in rural areas. Bone mineral density was estimated from a heel ultrasound of each respondent, and their number of teeth was self-reported. A range of individual variables, such as educational attainment, housing wealth, age and health behaviours, was controlled for. Results: It was found that the greater the percentage of households with a fluoridated water supply in an area, the higher the probability that respondents had all their own teeth. There was no significant relationship between the proportion of households with a fluoridated water supply in an area and bone health. Conclusion: This study suggests that water fluoridation provides a net health gain for older Irish adults, though the effects of fluoridation warrant further investigation.

The Association between Community Water Fluoridation and Bone Diseases: A Natural Experiment in Cheongju, Korea

“…In addition, a study conducted in the United States also concluded that long-term exposure to fluoridated drinking water does not increase the risk of fractures [ 27 ]. Furthermore, another study conducted in Ireland confirmed that there is no significant relationship between water fluoridation and bone health [ 28 ]. These findings corroborate the results of the present study, in which the posterior relative risk for hip fractures and osteoporosis was less than one.…”

Evaluation of the Cariogram for root caries prediction

“…For this reason, the authors chose to keep the "group" setting as standard rather than high, even though many might consider older adults as a high caries risk group. The "country" setting was also kept at standard even though over 80% of the water supply in the Republic of Ireland is fluoridated at a concentration of 0.6-0.8ppm [29]. Previously published studies have found that water fluoridation is associated with lower levels of root caries [30,31].…”

Fluoride Exposure Induces Inhibition of Sodium/Iodide Symporter (NIS) Contributing to Impaired Iodine Absorption and Iodine Deficiency: Molecular Mechanisms of Inhibition and Implications for Public Health

“…In addition, the percentage of adolescent girls with moderate to severe iodine deficiency (<50 µg/L) were 2–4-fold higher in the RoI compared to NI [19]. In examining this data, it is of fundamental importance to understand that approximately 84% of all households in the RoI have fluoridated water supplies [20], while drinking water is non-fluoridated in NI. Thus, the population in the RoI have higher exposure to F than NI.…”