The University of Washington School of Public Health supports community water fluoridation, based on its enormous public health impact and the recommendation of health authorities across the United States.

On May 30, 2019, Dean Hilary Godwin joined the deans of the other five UW Health Sciences schools in issuing a letter to Johnny Johnson, Jr, DMD, president of the American Fluoridation Society, and Dr. Kathy Lofy, State Health Officer and the Chief Science Officer for Washington State, Washington State Department of Health.

The letter reads as follows:

Dear Drs. Johnson and Lofy:

As the Health Sciences Deans of University of Washington, we continue to support optimal community water fluoridation as an effective and safe public health measure for people of all ages.  Numerous reputable studies over the years have consistently demonstrated that community water fluoridation is safe, effective, and practical.  A recent research letter published in the Journal of the American Medical Association Network links fluoridation to “the Healthy People 2020 goals of achieving health equity, eliminating disparities, and improving the health of all groups.”

Fluoridation has made an enormous impact on improving the oral health of the American people.  At the same time, we recognize that the public continues to receive periodic misinformation about fluoridation and we agree with the coauthors of a recent article in the Journal of the American Medical Association that fluoridation is the subject of "torrents of misinformation" on the internet and other venues. We are providing this letter in an effort to counter this misinformation and make clear to the communities that we serve that there is broad consensus across the health sciences that community water fluoridation results in improved health outcomes.

Our country is fortunate to have over 204 million Americans living in fluoridated communities and having access to the health and economic benefits of this vital public health measure.

Sincerely,

Gary T. Chiodo, DMD, FACD, Interim Dean, School of Dentistry

Paul Ramsey, MD, Dean, School of Medicine

Azita Emami, PhD, MSN, RNT, RN, FAAN, Dean, School of Nursing

Sean D. Sullivan, BScPharm, PhD, Dean, School of Pharmacy

Hilary Godwin, PhD, Dean, School of Public Health

Edwina Uehara, PhD, MSW, Dean, School of Social Work