I most strongly support the water fluoridation program in Port Macquarie, NSW.
Water fluoridation is entirely safe and cost-effective. It is beneficial for children, adults, and senior adults alike, that is, for everyone. The benefits are substantial. My research group conducted a recent study to measure the effect of introducing water fluoridation to the Blue Mountains in 1993, the final remaining region of greater Metropolitan Sydney to gain access to fluoridated water. Our results, published in the Australian Dental Journal in 2009 showed that Blue Mountains children in 2003, 10 years following the introduction of fluoridation, were 70 per cent less likely to have any decayed teeth.
The recently published findings of the National Survey of Adult Oral Health 2004-2006, “Australia’s dental generations”, showed that those aged in their 30s and 40s and had the benefit of life-long fluoridated water, had half the number of decayed teeth compared with when their parents were aged 30 to 40 years.
Water fluoridation is strongly endorsed by the World Health Organisation and all leading health authorities in Australia and elsewhere. Sadly, there are some who claim that water fluoridation is not effective, or that more research is needed, or that it is linked to serious diseases. Some of the opponents of water fluoridation are well-meaning but they have been misguided and some others are mischievous.
I trust that Port Macquarie residents will be pleased that their risk of tooth decay has been substantially reduced following the introduction of water fluoridation. The evidence base, in support of the claim that water fluoridation is safe and effective, is enormous and it has been reviewed by many independent expert bodies.
Wendell Evans
Colgate Associate Professor
Faculty of Dentistry
