Description

For all persons in 1986 and all sampled adults in 1990, FLUORIDEWHY records what the person understands to be the purpose of adding fluoride to public drinking water.

For changes in the response categories and universe, please see the Survey Text and Comparability Tabs.

This variable was first collected as part of the Dental Health Section in the 1986 Supplement, which contained a number of questions related to drinking water source concern knowledge and use of fluoridated water.

Related Variables
Variables on fluoride treatments and supplements practices include:

• H2OFLOR indicates whether the water a person drinks at home is fluoridated

• H2OSOURCE indicates whether the water a person drinks at home comes from a public water system or from another source, such as a well

• FLUORIDESUP indicates whether a person takes any kind of fluoride supplement

• TPASTEFLOR indicates whether a person uses a toothpaste with fluoride

• DENTFLUOR indicates the number of dental visits a person where they received fluoride treatments

• MWASHFLOR indicates whether a person uses a fluoride mouthwash

• MWASHFLORS indicates whether a child takes part in a fluoride mouthrinse program at school

Indicators of fluoride knowledge:

• PDFLUORDR indicates the importance given fluoridated drinking water for preventing tooth decay

• PDFLUORTP indicates the importance given fluoride toothpaste and mouthwash for preventing tooth decay

• PGFLUORDR indicates the importance given fluoridated drinking water for preventing tooth decay

• PGFLUORTP indicates the importance given fluoride toothpaste and mouthwash for preventing gum decay

Additional indicators of dental health and oral care knowledge are summarized in DENTDECAY

Indicators of other oral hygiene practices:

• SEALANTGOT indicates that the person has dental sealants

• TETHFILLNO reports the number of fillings that a child has

• TBRUSHPROD records the type of product a person uses to brush his/her teeth

• TPASTEDECAY indicates whether the person uses a fluoride toothpaste meeting American Dental Association (ADA) or FDA standards for preventing decay

• TPASTECALC indicates whether the person uses a toothpaste meeting ADA standards for retarding calculus buildup

• TPASTEPLAQ indicates whether the person uses a toothpaste meeting ADA standards for reducing plaque

• TPASTEDESEN indicates whether the person uses a toothpaste meeting ADA standards for desensitizing teeth

• TPASTEWHITE indicates whether the person uses a toothpaste marketed for removing smoking stains or whitening teeth

Comparability

This variable content is largely comparable over time, although the 1986 survey includes additional response categories that were subsequently eliminated. In 1986, this question was answered by the household respondent. Beginning in 1990, this question is asked only of sample adults.

Universe

Availability

• 1986, 1990

Weights

• 1986 : PERWEIGHT
• 1990 : SAMPWEIGHT