Hospitalizations for XXXX : Optimally versus nonoptimally fluoridated areas in Israel.

@entity1 @entity281 @entity1388
BACKGROUND: Odontogenic infections may result in local, systemic, and even potentially life-threatening complications. The authors investigated whether water fluoridation was associated with reduction in rates of hospitalizations due to odontogenic infections. METHODS: The authors included cities in Israel that had @entity1388 concentrations of either 0.7 milligrams per liter or more (optimally fluoridated) or 0.5  mg/L or less (nonoptimally fluoridated) and that had a public water @entity1388 concentration consistent for the last decade. The authors compared hospitalization rates (per 10,000 @entity1 ) for odontogenic infections in @entity1 younger than 18 years in each socioeconomic group between optimally and nonoptimally fluoridated cities. RESULTS: The authors included 1,413 hospitalizations between January 2005 and December 2011 of @entity1 residing in the 38 studied municipalities. The cities with the higher @entity1388 concentration reported a lower hospitalization rate (2.0 versus 4.3 for cities with a lower @entity1388 concentration; relative risk [RR]: 2.16; P  < .001). When the authors divided cities into 3 socioeconomic groups, a large difference in hospitalization rates was seen in the lowest socioeconomic group (10.1 versus 2.6; RR: 3.79; P  < .001) and the middle socioeconomic group (3.6 versus 1.9; RR: 2.35; P  < .001) in optimally and nonoptimally fluoridated cities, respectively. No significant difference in hospitalization rates was apparent between the 2 fluoridation groups in the higher socioeconomic level. CONCLUSIONS: These results clearly indicate that there is an association between adequacy of water fluoridation and hospitalization due to @entity281 among @entity1 and adolescents. This effect is more prominent in populations of lower socioeconomic status. PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS: Water fluoridation is associated with reduction in dental health disparity.
