How were the dental benefits of fluoride discovered?
In the early 1900s, a dentist in Colorado noticed that most local people had very little tooth decay. Research eventually linked the lack of tooth decay in the community to the natural levels of fluoride in the water supply. When another small town in Michigan achieved a dramatic reduction in tooth decay after adding fluoride to the town water supply in 1945, the world soon followed. In 1953 Beaconsfield, Tasmania (now famous for its mine rescue) became the first Australian town to adopt water fluoridation and all Australian capital cities except Brisbane followed in the 1960’s and 70’s. The Queensland town of Townsville fluoridated its water supply in 1963, with subsequent studies showing that children in Townsville have significantly fewer cavities than children in Brisbane.
