Public Policy l Fluoridation Facts 97 65. Why does community water fluoridation sometimes lose when it is put to a public vote? Answer. Voter apathy or low voter turnout due to the vote being held as a special election or in an “off” year, confusing ballot language (a “no” vote translates to support for fluoridation), blurring of scientific issues, the use of scare tactics by those opposed to fluoridation, long campaigns that lead to “fluoridation fatigue,” lack of leadership by elected officials and a lack of political campaign skills among health professionals are some of the reasons fluoridation votes are sometimes unsuccessful. Fact. The fact is that fluoridation votes in the U.S. are more often successful than not. In 2016, it was common to see those opposed to fluoridation make statements such as “450 communities had rejected fluoridation since 2000” or similar statements using different numbers. What is not made clear is that the number of communities in these statements is a global number. Many of these communities are outside the United States.78 In fact from 2000 through 2016, more than 515 U.S. communities in 42 states voted to adopt or retain successful fluoridation programs.79 In the five years from 2012 to 2016, U.S. communities voted in favor of fluoridation programs by a two to one margin.78,79 The fact is that fluoridation votes in the U.S. are more often successful than not…In the five years from 2012 to 2016, U.S. communities voted in favor of fluoridation programs by a two to one margin. Since 2000, nearly 50 million people have been added to the population on public water systems in the United States that enjoys the benefit of optimally fluoridated water.80 In 2000, 65% of the public on public water systems received fluoridated water.81 In 2014, the percentage had increased nearly 10% to 74.4% of the population.19 But despite the continuing growth of fluoridation in this country over the past several decades, millions of people in the U.S. do not yet receive the protective benefit of fluoride in their drinking FLUORIDATION AT YOUR FINGERTIPS! http://www.ADA.org/fluoride • ADA Fluoridation Resources • ADA Fluoridation Videos • ADA Fluoridation News Stories • ADA Policy and Statements • Links to Additional Fluoridation Websites www.ADA.org Many ADA resources are at your fingertips 24/7/365. Order a library book or products online, read JADA articles, discuss important topics with colleagues, find helpful information on professional topics from accreditation to X-rays and recommend our dental education animations, stories and games to your patients. Be resourceful. Visit ADA.org today! Figure 6. ADA Fluoride and Fluoridation Web Page