fluoridation , process of adding a fluoride to the water supply of a community to preserve the teeth of the inhabitants. Tooth enamel ordinarily contains small amounts of fluorides and when the amount is augmented through the intake of fluoridated water, especially during the first eight years of childhood, tooth decay can be greatly reduced. In the early 1900s, Frederick S. McKay, a Colorado dentist, discovered that an unknown substance in the local drinking water caused a mottling or staining of the teeth and that these teeth also showed fewer cavities. In 1931 the substance was identified... Read more