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

在美国长大, where water fluoridation is quite routine, I was surprised to learn of this fluoride policy.

I discovered that, according to Health Canada, 少于一半的加拿大人 (大致 45 百分之) receive fluoridated water.

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

多伦多, 汉密尔顿, 伦敦, and Edmonton are among the cities with fluoridated water. Water is not fluoridated in Vancouver, 维多利亚, 蒙特利尔, 或魁北克市. Calgary previously fluoridated the city water, 但 its city council voted in 2011 to discontinue the practice.

在美国, 以上 70 percent of Americans — or more than 204 万人 — on community water systems have fluoridated water.

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

在英国, like many European countries, has taken the opposite approach. 不到 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!

你怎么样? What facts surprised you when you moved abroad? Please leave a comment and share your discoveries.

水的玻璃相框 格雷格·瑞格勒摄影 (Flickr的)