OBJECTIVE:
to evaluate the compliance of the public water supply fluoridation process with current legislation in municipalities comprising Region 15 Health Surveillance Group, Bauru, São Paulo State, Brazil.
METHODS:
this is a retrospective study of fluoride measurement data obtained during the execution of the PROÁGUA Program between January 2002 and June 2011.
RESULTS:
5,320 of the 8,558 samples analyzed were classified as approved, 2,519 were below and 719 were above the established fluoridation limits. 9 of the 36 cities evaluated complied with the legislation, 6 did not, 12 showed variable performance and 9 started complying during the course of the study.
CONCLUSION:
in most of the places studied public water supply fluoridation was not adequate to ensure the effectiveness of public policies on dental caries prevention, showing the need for improvements in the operational control of these systems.
Fluoridation; Sodium Fluoride; Water Supply; Physicochemical Analysis; Public Health Surveillance
