Atlanta—About six million more U.S. residents now are receiving the benefits of fluoridated water, according to new data released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The latest water fluoridation statistics from 2012, posted online, show that community water fluoridation is available to 6 million more residents than in 2010.

“We are very pleased to report this positive news about the continued increase in fluoridation coverage in our nation,” said Dr. Katherine Weno, director, CDC Division of Oral Health. “These new statistics show that a substantial number of additional people in the United States are now receiving the decay-prevention benefits of fluoridated water.”

At the end of 2012, 210.7 million people, or 74.6 percent of the U.S. population on community water systems, had access to optimally fluoridated water.

Healthy People 2020 baseline statistics from 2008 show that 72.4 percent of U.S. residents had access to fluoridated water. The Healthy People 2020 target is 79.6 percent.

Since 2008, an additional 15 million people have received the benefit of fluoridated water.

The ADA’s Action for Dental Health: Dentists Making a Difference—a multifaceted campaign to reduce the numbers of adults and children with untreated dental disease—supports community water fluoridation as an effective and cost-efficient method to bring disease prevention to communities nationwide. One of the goals of the Action for Dental Health campaign is to ensure that 80 percent of Americans on public water systems have access to optimally fluoridated drinking water by 2020. See more on the campaign online.

For more fluoridation statistics; guidelines and recommendations; fact sheets; and FAQs, visit CDC.gov.

For more on ADA fluoridation policy and statements; resources; news; and more, visit ADA.org/fluoride.