Should we allow our public water supplies to be dosed with fluoride? After 15 years, the debate over this continues.

Personally, I can’t understand why anybody would want their drinking water contaminated with a substance that will not make any health related benefit to them, yet we have the Northland DHB and the central government doing just that.

I’m certainly not the only one opposed to mandatory fluoridation – a leading critic of fluoride is Kamo’s own Dr Lawrie Brett. In fact, here’s a list of medical professionals who have publicly denounced mandatory fluoridation.  

The DHB has said the reason Northlanders apparently need this added to their drinking water is because our rate of tooth decay up here is so much higher. But shouldn’t the fight instead be against over-consumption of fizzy drinks? Shouldn’t the focus be on getting young people to brush their teeth? The experts seem to say mass inoculation is the solution, instead of actually looking at the real problem.  A referendum was held on this issue by the WDC in 2002 and 70% of respondents voted against fluoridation. In 2007 the Far North District Council began a two-year fluoridation trial in Kaikohe and Kaitaia. That didn’t work out, and was discontinued in 2009.

When I look at the arguments of the people in favour of adding chemicals to our water, I can’t see the supposed connection between drinking fluoride and fixing tooth decay.  The facts show that if you don’t brush your teeth and drink fluoride-contaminated water, you’ll still have tooth decay.  However if you brush your teeth regularly and don’t drink fluoride contaminated water, the facts clearly show less tooth decay. It’s not as if there aren’t other options to keep teeth healthy - every child in Northland 12 years old or younger has an annual oral health check. Is that not enough?

Why are our health officials and politicians pushing fluoridation? I can give you many conspiracy theories, however it all comes back to the simple fact that some “experts” believe the only way to fix a problems is to mass inoculate, because mass inoculation is easier. I say we don’t all have to swallow fluoride –and don’t forget fluoride toothpaste for personal consumption costs as little as $2.

I believe the Rotary way is best: teach a person the benefits of drinking right and brushing their teeth, and then allow them to choose. That way, no one’s forcing anyone to do anything they don’t want to.