A study published in the Journal of Public Health Dentistry compared cavity rates of children and seniors. The study found cavity rates were 300 percent higher for seniors. One treatment is both simple and inexpensive. Surgeon General Koop valued fluoridation as one of public health's greatest achievements. It's so incredibly cheap.
Water fluoridation is such an obvious benefit for older adults.
The Centers for Disease Control lists fluoridation of public drinking water as one of the 20th century's most significant public health developments in helping people live longer and keeping their teeth. The onset of this epidemic begins with adults in their 40s and continues as long as they have teeth. Losing gum tissue exposes the root of the tooth. In just one generation, we've stopped the idea that dentures are a natural part of growing older. Keeping teeth longer means adults, seniors in particular, are now more at risk to develop cavities.