As with some other countries, water fluoridation in the United States is a contentious issue. As of May 2000, 42 of the 50 largest U.S. cities had water fluoridation. On January 25, 1945, Grand Rapids, Michigan, became the first community in the United States to fluoridate its drinking water to prevent tooth decay.
Fluoridation became an official policy of the U.S. Public Health Service by 1951, and by 1960 water fluoridation had become widely used in the U.S., reaching about 50 million people.[2] By 2006, 69.2% of the U.S. population on public water systems were receiving fluoridated water, amounting to 61.5% of the total U.S. population.[3] Near the end of 2012, 67.1% of the U.S. population were getting water from community water systems (CWS) supplying water that had fluoride at or above recommended levels. Those included the 3.5% of the population that were on CWS with naturally occurring fluoride at or above recommended levels. 74.6% of those on CWS were receiving water with fluoride at or above recommended levels.[4]
U.S. regulations for bottled water do not require disclosing fluoride content.[5] A survey of bottled water in Cleveland and in Iowa, published in 2000, found that most had fluoride levels well below the 1 mg/L level common in tap waters.[6][7]
