Like many Americans, I closely followed the passage of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, otherwise known as the “Economic Stimulus Plan.” As a public health professional, I am keenly interested in the parts of the stimulus bill that promote health, such as the Prevention and Wellness Fund, which Jeanne Lambert wrote about as a “Wellness Trust” long before she was Deputy Director of the White House Office of Health Reform.

The CDC has recognized the fluoridation of drinking water as one of ten great public health achievements of the twentieth century. Since its introduction into water supplies following WWII, water fluoridation has helped improve the quality of life in the United States by reducing pain and suffering related to tooth decay, time lost from school and work, and money spent to restore, remove, or replace decayed teeth. Nearly 70 percent of U.S. residents, or about 184 million people, who get water from public water systems have fluoridated water.