Department of Public Health, Environment & Infection Research Unit, Department of Public Health, University of Otago, Wellington, New Zealand.
GeoHealth Laboratory, Geospatial Research Institute, University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand.
J Public Health Dent. 2023 Jun;83(2):217-221. doi: 10.1111/jphd.12548. Epub 2022 Oct 7.
Community water fluoridation (CWF) has proven oral health benefits. We investigated whether drinking water suppliers are meeting New Zealand CWF targets (0.7-1.0 ppm) to ensure these benefits.
We retrieved fluoride testing data from 25 supplies serving 2,059,000 people (82% of people on a fluoridated supply), for the years 1992-2022 (22,220 weekly observations). We descriptively assessed compliance with fluoride targets in this convenience sample.
The mean fluoride level was 0.66 ppm (SD 0.28). Water suppliers achieved fluoride targets 54.1% of the time (range 4.2%-77.9%). Fluoride concentration fell short of the target in 42.2% of observations, exceeded but under the maximum acceptable value (MAV) in 3.6%, and in excess of the MAV in 0.1%. The percentage of compliant observations was greater in larger than smaller supplies.
Noncompliance with CWF targets was common. Epidemiological studies that rely on fluoridation status as their exposure may underestimate the oral health benefits of CWF. Our results highlight future challenges with the feasibility of expanding CWF under new legislation as well as the weaknesses in drinking water surveillance.
社区饮水氟化（CWF）已被证明对口腔健康有益。我们调查了饮用水供应商是否符合新西兰 CWF 目标（0.7-1.0ppm），以确保这些益处。
我们从为 205.9 万人（占氟化供应人口的 82%）服务的 25 个供水系统中检索了 1992 年至 2022 年（22220 个每周观察值）的氟化物测试数据。我们在这个方便样本中描述性地评估了对氟化物目标的遵守情况。
平均氟化物水平为 0.66ppm（SD 0.28）。供水商在 54.1%的时间内达到了氟化物目标（范围为 4.2%-77.9%）。在 42.2%的观察中，氟化物浓度低于目标值，在 3.6%的观察中，氟化物浓度超过但低于最大允许值（MAV），在 0.1%的观察中，氟化物浓度超过 MAV。在较大的供水系统中，符合目标的观察比例更高。
不符合 CWF 目标的情况很常见。依赖氟化状态作为暴露因素的流行病学研究可能低估了 CWF 的口腔健康益处。我们的结果强调了在新立法下扩大 CWF 的可行性以及饮用水监测的弱点所带来的未来挑战。
