Between October 18–21, this website will move to a new web address (from health.gov to odphp.health.gov). During that time, some functions might not work as expected. We appreciate your patience and understanding as we’re working to make this transition as smooth as possible.

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion

Increase the proportion of people whose water systems have the recommended amount of fluoride — OH‑11

Status: Baseline only

  
Baseline only
Learn more about our data release schedule

Most Recent Data:
72.8 percent (2016)

Target:
77.1 percent

Desired Direction:
Increase desired

Baseline:
72.8 percent of persons were served by community water systems with optimally fluoridated water in 2016

See detailed data for this objective

Increase the proportion of persons served by community systems with optimally fluoridated water systems

Target-Setting Method
Percentage point improvement

Data Source:  Water Fluoridation Reporting System (WFRS), CDC/NCCDPHP

Learn more about data measurement for this objective

Summary

Tooth decay is caused by certain bacteria in the mouth. When a person eats sugar and other refined carbohydrates, these bacteria produce acid that removes minerals from the surface of the tooth. But fluoride can stop or even reverse the tooth decay process — it can help re-mineralize tooth surfaces and prevent cavities from forming. Adding fluoride to water systems is one of the most effective ways to prevent tooth decay.

Topics:  Health Policy, Neighborhood and Built Environment, Oral Conditions, Preventive Care

Workgroup: Oral Health Workgroup

Other objectives you may be interested in

Browse all Healthy People 2030 objectives