Teo C S
Ann Acad Med Singap. 1984 Apr;13(2):247-51.
Fluoridation of public water supplies as a means of reducing the prevalence of dental caries was introduced in Singapore in 1956. This paper will describe the fluoridation programme, and discuss its role in the prevention of dental decay. Water fluoridation has been advocated by the World Health Organisation in 1958 when the first report by an expert committee concluded that drinking water containing about 1 ppm. fluoride had a marked caries preventive action, and that controlled fluoridation of drinking water was a practicable and effective public health measure. Today, more than 60 countries serving over 330 million people have drinking water which is fluoridated. In Singapore, public water supplies contain 0.7 ppm. fluoride. The efficacy of this programme is reported in follow-up studies. After ten years, mean dmf/DMF reduction of 34.4% was recorded for seven-year old Chinese school children, and 33.6% for the same age group Malay school children. These results are consistent with world-wide studies which show beneficial reduction in carries level in children by 30-80%. Fluoridation of public water supplies is indicated if there is an efficient system of distribution and when there is a moderate-to-high prevalence of dental caries.
1956年，新加坡开始采用公共供水氟化的方式来降低龋齿患病率。本文将介绍氟化项目，并讨论其在预防龋齿方面的作用。1958年，世界卫生组织提倡水氟化，当时一个专家委员会的首份报告得出结论，含氟量约为1 ppm的饮用水具有显著的防龋作用，且对饮用水进行可控氟化是一项可行且有效的公共卫生措施。如今，60多个国家为超过3.3亿人提供氟化饮用水。在新加坡，公共供水含氟量为0.7 ppm。后续研究报告了该项目的成效。十年后，7岁的华裔学童平均乳牙龋失补牙面数/恒牙龋失补牙面数（dmf/DMF）减少了34.4%，同年龄组的马来学童减少了33.6%。这些结果与全球研究一致，即表明儿童龋齿水平有益降低30%-80%。如果有高效的供水系统且龋齿患病率处于中高水平，就适合对公共供水进行氟化。
