Across the world an estimated 380 million people are served by community water fluoridation schemes.

The first scheme started in Grand Rapids in the US State of Michigan in 1945.  Since then, water fluoridation has been adopted as an oral health promotion strategy by communities in the United States and many other countries.

Today, in addition to the United States, countries operating fluoridation schemes include Canada, Brazil, Chile, Argentina, Peru, Guatemala, Guyana, the Irish Republic, the UK, Spain, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Malaysia, Brunei, South Korea, Vietnam, Papua New Guinea and Fiji.

Major cities with fluoridated water supplies include New York, Washington DC, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Philadelphia, Boston, Atlanta, Miami, Toronto, Winnipeg, Edmonton, Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paolo, Buenos Aires, Santiago, Dublin, Cork, Birmingham, Newcastle upon Tyne, Bilbao, Seville, Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur, Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide, Wellington and Auckland.