Scenery of fluoridation of public water supply in brazil: an integrativereview

Abstract

Aim: To present the scenery of the fluoridation of public water supplies nationally, in order to find out how this measure has been implemented in the country, as it is legally mandatory. Material and methods: This is an integrative review based on research indexed in the Virtual Health Library (VHL), Pubmed, Scopus and Web of Science databases, using descriptors in Portuguese and English, such as: “Fluoretação”, “Água de abastecimento”, “Brasil”, “Fluoridation”, “Supply water” and “Brazil”. Results: Most studies focused on the Southeast (14; 41.18%) and South (10; 29.41%) of Brazil. From the total of selected studies, 15 (44.12%) of them presented results where most of the analyzed samples were inadequate, that is, not consistent with effective levels for caries prevention. The most prevalent method of analysis (94.12%) was the electrometric with a specific potentiometer for the fluoride ion, and most (47.06%) of the studies used the Federal ordinance GM /MS nº 635/1975 as a parameter for evaluation. Conclusion: This review points out and reinforces the need for intervention strategies by the public health surveillance sector to guarantee the population's consumption of fluoridated water with quality, given the effectiveness of this public health measure in the decline of dental caries.

Keywords: fluoridation; Brazil; water supply.