1319 Att 2d Email invitation_fluoride testing

Email to states to invite them to submit fluoride testing data

Form Approved

OMB No. 0920- 19DO (for CDC)

Exp. Date 02/29/2024

Date:	January xx, 20xx
To:	State Dental Directors State Drinking Water Administrators State Fluoridation Specialists
From:	<name>, National Fluoridation Engineer
	CDC Division of Oral Health

Re: Invitation to submit fluoride level testing data

Dear Colleagues,

Fluoridation of community water systems has been recognized by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as one of 10 great public health achievements of the 20th Century. 

To maintain these achievements, increase the number of Americans that benefit from community water fluoridation, and reduce the burden on states to monitor water systems, CDC is requesting your participation in the annual collection of fluoride level testing data for adjusted public community water systems.

Although your participation is voluntary, the fluoride testing data are essential to monitor and ensure the quality of state community water fluoridation programs. States may choose to publish the data on CDC’s My Water’s Fluoride (MWF) website by selecting the “Advanced Level” report setting for the display preferences in the Water Fluoridation Reporting System (WFRS).

The data will also be used to monitor and facilitate adoption of the 2015 recommended beneficial fluoride target level and the expected operational control range. State programs as well as Public Water Systems (PWS) which achieve consistent fluoride levels in the recommended range will be eligible for awards from the Association of State and Territorial Dental Directors, the American Dental Association, and CDC if data for the previous calendar year are entered in WFRS by March 12 and May 14 respectively for the state awards and the water system award (see attached criteria).

Please share this information with your state drinking water administrators. Instructions for submitting data are included below. Please refer to the WFRS technical guide for further information

If you have questions, please contact Tracy Boehmer, CDC National Fluoridation Engineer, at opm0@cdc.gov or by phone at (404) 498-0774.

Thank you for your participation.

Sincerely,

Division of Oral Health

National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

www.cdc.gov/oralhealth

To recognize state programs and Public Water Systems (PWS) that are doing an outstanding job of promoting oral health, annual water fluoridation quality awards are made by the Association of State and Territorial Dental Directors (ASTDD), the American Dental Association (ADA), and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

In order to qualify for an award, a PWS must maintain fluoride levels that are in the recommended range and the levels must be documented in the Water Fluoridation Reporting System (WRFS). Data that need to be entered into WFRS include the monthly average, minimum, and maximum values reported by the water system. Additionally, the boxes for "Sufficient samples were reported” and "Sufficient samples In Range" must be checked.

Instructions for Downloading Fluoride Level Testing Data

Log into WFRS. (For assistance setting up an account, please contact the CDC Fluoridation Engineer.)

1. Select “Fluoride Data” from the left navigation menu of the WFRS home page.

2. Select the year from the “Select Year” drop down list in “Option A” to enter fluoride data for 12 months for a single water system.

3. Select an adjusted water system from the list or search by entering the PWS ID or PWS name. As you type, the system displays the matching water systems.

4. Enter fluoride level testing data for each month of the previous calendar year 2022, including monthly average, highest, and lowest daily concentrations.

5. Select the “Sufficient Samples” and “In Range” boxes if within your state operational range (

States may also choose “Option B” from the “Fluoride Data” page to enter fluoride data for a selected year and month for all adjusted water systems.

Please note that “Option C” is currently not functional. If this is your typical mode of delivery, please send the completed template directly to the CDC Fluoridation Engineer (opm9@cdc.gov). Please download the updated template.

Awards Criteria

Water System Quality Award. This CDC award recognizes PWS that adjust the fluoride concentration in drinking water and have achieved an average reading between the lowest and highest recommended fluoridation levels for 12 consecutive months in a calendar year. For a PWS to be eligible, its performance must be documented by the State in WFRS. CDC prints the certificates and sends them to state oral health programs, which then distributes the awards to the recipient PWS. These awards are important to PWS because they provide recognition and can be promoted in their consumer communications.

State Fluoridation Quality Award. This joint award recognizes states for maintaining high quality water fluoridation. The criteria for this award is documentation in WFRS that the State has maintained optimally fluoridated water for a minimum of 9 months in the previous calendar year in either 90% or greater of its adjusted water systems or for 90% or greater of the population supplied by adjusted water systems. The award is presented jointly by ASTDD, the ADA, and CDC at the annual National Oral Health Conference (NOHC).

State Fluoridation Initiative Award. This award is presented by ASTDD, the ADA, and CDC at the NOHC to recognize the state that had the greatest gain in new water systems that are fluoridating and/or the state that had the greatest increase in the population served by fluoridated water systems in the past calendar year.

To be eligible for the awards, please ensure that you have entered 2022 monthly data into WFRS by key dates as follows:

March 31, 2023. Data entered after March 31, 2023 will not be used when considering eligibility to receive State awards. The 2022 state-level awards will be presented in April 2023 during the annual Business Meeting and Awards Ceremony in conjunction with NOHC.

May 19, 2023. Data entered after May 19, 2023 will not be used when considering eligibility to receive PWS Quality Awards. Award certificates for individual PWS will be mailed to directors in Fall 2023.

If you have any questions about entering data into WFRS or these awards, please contact Tracy Boehmer, CDC National Fluoridation Engineer, at opm9@cdc.gov or by telephone at (404) 498-0774.

Frequently Asked Questions

• Do I need to have the “Sufficient Samples” and “In Range” boxes checked to receive an award?

Yes, both items must be checked in order to be eligible for an award. Please see your state’s Default Optimal Criteria under the Owner Preferences for the requirements for these items.

NOTE - One box checked and one unchecked does not qualify for award

• I have a PWS that does not appear in all 12 months in the WFRS Monthly Upload Tables. What should I do?

Monthly upload tables are created based on the water systems profile status on the first day of the month. If the PWS was not included as an adjusted system in WFRS at the beginning of a month, it may not be included; contact CDC to request that additional months are added.

• What recommended level are the CDC awards based on?

The recommended optimal level is 0.7 mg/L. For those states that don’t have a mandated operational tolerance range, the adjusted water systems will get credit from CDC if they have a monthly fluoride level for each month from 0.6 to 1.0 mg/L.

• Do naturally fluoridated PWS get recognized with an award?

Currently, awards are only given to adjusted PWS that demonstrate quality operations.