General News
4 December, 2024
Fluoride fight
EIGHT leading health and medical organisations have written letters to Cairns Mayor Amy Eden and the council in support of fluoridation.
They are the Royal Australasian College of Dental Surgeons (RACDS), The University of Queensland school of dentistry, James Cook University’s school of dentistry, the Australian Medical Association Queensland (AMAQ), the Public Health Association Australia, The Cairns GP Group, the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) and the National Health and Medical Research Council.
“In a diverse community like Cairns, where access to dental care may be limited for some, fluoridation provides protection for everyone, regardless of income or access to private dental services,” said RACDS president Dr Susan Wise and Queensland chairman Dr Kiran Kumar.
“It helps to reduce health inequities and supports better outcomes for disadvantaged populations. Decades of research have confirmed that water fluoridation is safe when administered at recommended levels,” they said. “We urge the Cairns Regional Council to support water fluoridation as an important step toward improving public health and reducing dental disease in the community.”
AMAQ president Dr Nik Yim and chief executive officer Dr Brett Dale said research “unequivocally shows that poor childhood oral health leads to poor adult oral health”.
“Likewise, our most disadvantaged groups, particularly First Nations Queenslanders and children, have a much higher risk of dental disease than that of other community populations,” they said.
“Thankfully, water fluoridation is one of the easiest and most effective methods to decrease the prevalence and severity of oral disease across both child and adult populations.
“It is also supported by a robust and widely accepted body of research.
“Despite this, Cairns Regional Council ceased water fluoridation in 2013 and the community have since not been afforded this important public health benefit.
“Doctors and dentists continue to be distressed by increasing rates of tooth decay and associated poor health outcomes, particularly among children.”
University of Queensland dentistry head Professor Saso Ivanovski and research director Professor Loc Do said the University of Queensland school of dentistry “strongly supports water fluoridation for the population of Cairns and Hinterland as an effective, safe, and equitable measure to improve population health outcomes. Implementing this program would also lead to improved socio-economic outcomes in the population”.
Dr Manjunath Rajashekhar, acting Professor Ernest Jennings and Professor John Abbott of JCU’s dentistry school “strongly encourage the Cairns Regional Council to implement water fluoridation in our community”.
RACGP Queensland chairwoman Dr Cath Hester said “water fluoridation is a safe, effective, and ethical way to help improve dental health and reduce tooth decay at a population level, and the RACGP strongly supports calls to fluoridate the Cairns water supply”.
