My daughter came back from the dentist the other day and reported that Vancouver does not fluoridate its water system.

بعد أن كبروا في الولايات المتحدة, where water fluoridation is quite routine, I was surprised to learn of this fluoride policy.

I discovered that, according to Health Canada, أقل من نصف الكنديين (تقريبا 45 في المئة) receive fluoridated water.

رغم أن Health Canada supports water fluoridation as a way to reduce tooth decay, the decision to fluoridate water is a local one in Canada.

تورونتو, هاميلتون, لندن, and Edmonton are among the cities with fluoridated water. Water is not fluoridated in Vancouver, فيكتوريا, مونتريال, أو مدينة كويبك. Calgary previously fluoridated the city water, لكن its city council voted in 2011 to discontinue the practice.

في الولايات المتحدة, أكثر من 70 percent of Americans — or more than 204 مليون شخص — on community water systems have fluoridated water.

The percentage is even higher in Australia, حيث حوالي 90 percent of the population receives fluoridated water.

والمملكة المتحدة., like many European countries, has taken the opposite approach. أقل من 10 percent of U.K. residents have fluoride added to their water supply.

One of the many unexpected things you learn when you move to a new country!

ماذا عنك? What facts surprised you when you moved abroad? Please leave a comment and share your discoveries.

الصورة المياه من الزجاج جريج ريغلر التصوير (فليكر)