fluoridationn.
/ˌflʊərᵻˈdeɪʃn/, /ˌflɔːrᵻˈdeɪʃn/, U.S. /ˌflʊrəˈdeɪʃ(ə)n/, /ˌflɔrəˈdeɪʃ(ə)n/ 1. Mineralogy. The replacement of a constituent of a mineral by fluorine.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > minerals > change processes > [noun] > absorbing fluoride
fluoridation1904
1904 C. R. Van Hise Treat. Metamorphism (U.S. Geol. Surv.) 206 Fluoridation is the addition of fluorine, forming fluorides.
1953 Chem. & Engin. News 4 May 1905/1 The earlier, geologic sense of ‘fluoridation’, namely, introduction of fluorine into a mineral, would seem to be more properly fluorination.
1984 N. N. Greenwood & A. Earnshaw Chem. of Elements (1986) xii. 551 Tooth enamel is nearly pure hydroxyapatite and its resistance to dental caries is enhanced by replacement of OH− by F− (fluoridation).
2008 C. Rey et al. in A. Tressaud & G. Haufe Fluorine & Health iv. 298 Fluoride ions play a determining role in the fluoridation of apatite, especially in the case of dental enamel.
2.
a. The addition of fluoride to a public supply of drinking water in order to prevent or reduce tooth decay in the population. Cf. earlier fluoridization n. 1a, fluorination n. 2.The level of fluoride required for this purpose is low (approximately one part per million), and is well below the concentration at which fluorosis occurs. Fluoridation began in the United States around 1945, and was later widely introduced elsewhere, but has become controversial in some places because of fears about the toxicity of fluoride and its possible role in the causation of cancer and of allergic, renal, neurological, and genetic disorders.
ΘΚΠ
the world > health and disease > healing > medicines or physic > impregnation of substances with medicaments > [noun] > with specific substance
fluoridization1939
fluorination1941
fluoridation1949
1949 Jrnl. Amer. Water Works Assoc. 41 ii. 576/1 The present demands for the fluoridation of water supplies are coming from the public and the press.
1955 Sci. Amer. Apr. 2/2 I believe that a big reason why fluoridation failed to win acceptance was the hasty and somewhat authoritarian way in which it had been introduced.
1958 Spectator 6 June 737/2 In Britain many leading dentists and physicians are opposing fluoridation.
1960 Times 10 Feb. 7/3 A Bill to introduce the compulsory fluoridation of water.
1966 T. McKeown & C. R. Lowe Introd. Social Med. xiii. 139 In the British studies there was a sixty-six per cent reduction in caries among three year old children after the introduction of fluoridation.
1971 Daily Tel. 3 June 2/1 Fluoridation of water supplies..has been shown to prevent dental decay.
2001 Financial Times 27 Jan. (Weekend Suppl.) p. II/3 Denmark, Finland and Germany have all tried fluoridation and abandoned it, while France has consistently decided against it.
b. Treatment of teeth with a topical preparation of fluoride; = fluoridization n. 1b.
ΘΚΠ
the world > health and disease > healing > dentistry > [noun] > other dental procedures
remineralization1828
reattachment1846
articulation1849
aurification1881
root work1903
apicectomy1914
spatulation1939
fluoridation1951
fluoridization1951
splintage1956
splinting1960
replant1969
1951 Jrnl. Canad. Dental Assoc. 17 328/2 The principal duty of the dental hygienist is the giving of dental prophylaxis, including fluoridation of the teeth.
1963 Brit. Dental Jrnl. 114 216 Topical fluoridation procedures should be discussed only as an alternative to water fluoridation if..a community cannot benefit from water fluoridation.
1965 Helvetica Odontologica Acta 9 150 The fluoride content of the outermost enamel layer immediately after topical fluoridation ranged between 1385 and 2800 ppm.
2009 R. A. Freeze & J. H. Lehr Fluoride Wars vi. 152 Had it been successful in convincing the public to support voluntary topical fluoridation as the only method of delivery, there would [etc.].
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2012; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1904