Water and health: fluoridation and the repeal of Brazilian Federal Law 6050/74

Abstract

Unlike many countries, Brazil has a legal instrument that endorses water fluoridation, an effective public health technology to prevent tooth decay of the population: Federal Law 6050/1974. As there are no scientific objections to the measure, the country should protect this instrument. However, the Chamber of Deputies has welcomed parliamentary initiatives calling for the repeal of the Brazilian law which mandates fluoridation wherever there is a water treatment plant. Such were the cases of the Bill 510, in 2003, and the Bill 6359, in 2013. In this article we analyze the arguments justifying these bills, in the light of scientific evidence. It was found close similarity between the contents of the two bills: the arguments used to justify the repeal of the law have no scientific basis and rely only on beliefs and common sense. The supply of water fluoridation has become the action with the greatest impact in preventing tooth decay, throughout the twentieth century. In Brazil, this law has become an important legal frame of reference for its implementation in much of the country, benefiting millions of people of all ages, helping to mitigate the limitations of access to individual preventative actions and dental care. It was concluded that the repeal of this law would imply in the suspension of an important health measure representing an injustice and bringing about inequalities and a foreseeable worsening of the oral epidemiological framework.