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JAMA. 2002;287:2071-2072.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text and any section headings.

MMWR. 2002:51:144-147

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Dental caries (i.e., tooth decay) is a transmissible, multifactor disease that affects 50% of children aged 5-9 years, 67% of adolescents aged 12-17 years,¹ and 94% of adults aged 18 years² in the United States. During the second half of the 20th century,³ a major decline in the prevalence and severity of dental caries resulted from the identification of fluoride as an effective method of preventing caries. Fluoridation of the public water supply is the most equitable, cost-effective, and cost-saving method of delivering fluoride to the community.^4-5 In the United States during 2000, approximately 162 million persons (65.8% of the population served by public water systems) received optimally fluoridated water compared with 144 million (62.1%) in 1992.⁶ This report presents state-specific data on the status of water fluoridation in the United States and describes a new surveillance system designed to routinely produce state and national . . . [Full Text of this Article]