water fluoridation Archives - Bite Magazine

ADA analysis finds tens of thousands of NSW residents face “postcode lottery” for oral health

Editor — Mon, 22 Sep 2025 23:26:35 +0000

Almost 217,000 residents in regional and rural NSW are without fluoridated drinking water, putting their long-term oral health at risk, according to a new analysis by ADA NSW. Fluoridation outages and non-implementation across multiple LGAs mean families in these communities are unfairly disadvantaged by what ADA NSW is calling a “postcode lottery” for children’s teeth. The detrimental […]

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Study finds fluoride in water does not affect brain development

Editor — Sun, 05 Jan 2025 22:48:06 +0000

A University of Queensland study has found no link between exposure to water fluoridation as a young child and negative cognitive development. Professor Loc Do from UQ’s School of Dentistry said the IQ scores of 357 people who had participated in the 2012–2014 National Child Oral Health Study were assessed by registered psychologists to see if their exposure […]

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Fluoride decision abandons vulnerable Queenslanders, says AMA Queensland

Editor — Sun, 15 Dec 2024 23:12:01 +0000

Queensland doctors are concerned that the recent decision by six Cairns councillors to vote against reintroducing fluoride to the local water supply goes against decades of scientific evidence and abandons vulnerable people who cannot afford dental care or healthy food, “AMA Queensland thanks councillors Anna Middleton, Trevor Tim and Rob Pyne for their passionate advocacy […]

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Doctors advocate against fluoride misinformation

Editor — Sun, 10 Nov 2024 23:15:24 +0000

AMA Queensland has warned that dangerous misinformation about fluoride in water supplies is causing unnecessary fear and concern in communities about the safety of this naturally occurring mineral and is leading to a backlash against medical and health experts who advocate for fluoridation. “Councils must act in the interests of their community by reinstating water […]

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Water fluoridation found to be less effective now than in past

Editor — Tue, 08 Oct 2024 00:21:17 +0000

The dental health benefits of adding fluoride to drinking water may be smaller now than before fluoride toothpaste was widely available, an updated Cochrane review has found. The team of researchers from the Universities of Manchester, Dundee and Aberdeen reviewed the evidence from 157 studies which compared communities that had fluoride added to their water supplies with […]

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Lack of fluoridated water a health risk for disadvantaged Queenslanders

Editor — Sun, 21 Jan 2024 22:50:00 +0000

Researchers have found Queenslanders from lower socio-economic areas are at higher risk of dental disease due to a lack of fluoridated water. University of Queensland biostatistician Christopher Sexton led a team that investigated the link between geographical areas’ socio-economic status and access to fluoridated water across the state. “We estimated almost 80 per cent of people […]

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Lack of fluoride in rural areas impacting children

Editor — Mon, 06 Mar 2023 22:38:35 +0000

Since being first introduced into Australia in 1953 to improve dental health, water fluoridation has been shown to reduce tooth decay by 26 – 44 per cent in children and adolescents and by 27 per cent in adults. Now, a La Trobe University study has found that one-third of Victorian rural towns with populations over […]

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Study sheds new light on benefits of water fluoridation to children

Editor — Tue, 15 Nov 2022 23:07:32 +0000

Fluoridation of the water supply may confer a modest benefit to the dental health of children, a seven-year study led by UK researchers has concluded. However, the benefits are smaller than shown in previous studies—carried out 50 years ago—when fluoride toothpaste was less widely available in the UK. The research—published in the journal Public Health Research—was […]

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System breakdown: when water fluoridation proves unreliable

Editor — Sun, 06 Nov 2022 23:06:29 +0000

Fluoridation complications in two regional NSW towns have highlighted the importance of governments, councils and local dentists working hand in hand to ensure that community dental health is not compromised. By Cameron Cooper Dubbo dentist Dr Afaq Babi admits to being dumbfounded when a news reporter called him in August this year asking for his […]

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Research shows water fluoridation is safe for children

Editor — Mon, 10 Oct 2022 22:53:59 +0000

Research from The University of Queensland has found no link between community water fluoridation and adverse effects on children’s brain development. The study—published in the Journal of Dental Research—examined the difference between the brain development and function of children who’d been exposed to fluoridated water in early childhood with those who weren’t. “We found emotional and […]

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Water fluoridation both prevents tooth decay and benefits environment

Editor — Tue, 30 Aug 2022 23:06:17 +0000

UK researchers have demonstrated for the first time the low environmental footprint of water fluoridation compared to other preventive measures for tooth decay. Trinity College Dublin researchers collaborating with University College London quantified the environmental impact of water fluoridation for an individual five-year-old child over a one-year period and compared this to the traditional use of fluoride […]

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Gaping hole in Australian dental health is preventable

Editor — Mon, 05 Jul 2021 22:51:35 +0000

Children with limited exposure to fluoridated water and a high sugar intake are 70 per cent more likely to develop cavities in their permanent teeth, according to University of Queensland-led research published in the Journal of Dental Research. Professor Loc Do from UQ’s School of Dentistry said a study of 24,664 Australian children raised particular concerns for young Queenslanders. […]

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Fluoridation roll-out for WA’s south-west communities

Editor — Tue, 26 Jan 2021 23:30:46 +0000

The south-west communities of Bunbury and Dalyellup in WA will have fluoridated drinking water on tap by 2023. This follows water fluoridation in November of a number of neighbouring communities—and is part of a broad long-term strategy to combat tooth decay across the state. The measure will bring the south west into line with Perth […]

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Fluoride in water is not associated with increase in osteosarcoma

Editor — Tue, 19 May 2020 23:17:26 +0000

Community water fluoridation is not associated with increased risk of osteosarcoma, a US study has found. More than sixty percent of the US population have access to community water fluoridation, considered to be one of the most important public health policies of the twentieth century due to its reduction of tooth decay at the population […]

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A day to promote water over sugary drinks

Editor — Tue, 15 Oct 2019 22:38:04 +0000

This year’s World Cavity-Free Future Day (WCFFDay—held on 14 October) encouraged Australians to prioritise their oral health by making water their drink of choice. The now-worldwide event is an initiative of the Alliance for a Cavity-Free Future (ACFF), who believe that every child born after 2026 should not experience tooth decay within their lifetime. The critical role […]

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DHSV questions water fluoridation study results

Editor — Tue, 10 Sep 2019 23:00:11 +0000

Dental Health Services Victoria has stated recent findings from a Canadian study on maternal fluoride exposure during pregnancy and IQ scores in young children between 2008 to 2011, should be interpreted with extreme caution A finding of the study, published in JAMA Paediatrics, has sparked discussion among members of the community that an increase in maternal urinary fluoride […]

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ADAQ calls on state government to mandate water fluoridation

Editor — Sun, 10 Mar 2019 23:30:44 +0000

The Australian Dental Association – Queensland Branch is calling on the Queensland Government to mandate water fluoridation in Queensland. When the Water Fluoridation Act 2008 was amended in 2012, almost 20 local councils around the State acted to remove fluoride from their water supply. Despite much political debate about this, including publicly stated support for […]

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Water fluoridation prevents dental decay in US youth

Editor — Tue, 03 Jul 2018 23:40:57 +0000

Water fluoridation prevents dental decay in US children and adolescents, a recent US study has found. The study—which was published last month in the Journal of Dental Research—merged county-level estimates of the percentage of population with community water fluoridation from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Water Fluoridation Reporting System with dental examination data […]

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Bottled water versus tap water

Editor — Wed, 12 Apr 2017 23:00:35 +0000

Australians who only drink bottled water are turning their backs on the benefits of water fluoridation, according to the Australian Dental Association (ADA) NSW. Speaking on the topic recently, ADA (NSW) president Dr Sabrina Manickam said, “Drinking tap water with fluoride has added benefits for your oral health.” ADA NSW recommends tap water as the […]

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Fluoride wars

Editor — Tue, 14 Mar 2017 00:47:33 +0000

The science is unequivocal: fluoridation promotes good oral health. So why are so many people still scared of it? Susan Chenery talks to Dr Michael Foley from the Australian Dental Association about his experiences fighting the good fight. Things are rotting in the state of fluoridation in Queensland. Now known by some as “the toothless […]

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Fluoridation still the answer

Editor — Thu, 10 Apr 2014 01:40:29 +0000

Dental Health Services Victoria chief executive officer, Dr Deborah Cole, has welcomed the findings of a new report from the United Kingdom that has reconfirmed the evidence that water fluoridation schemes are a safe and effective public health measure. The report, by Public Health England, looked at key indicators of health in people in fluoridated […]

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NSW government will let Councils decide on fluoridation

Editor — Thu, 26 Sep 2013 04:26:33 +0000

Health Minister Jillian Skinner last week announced the NSW Government will commit $7.5 million to ensure councils are supported to build the vital infrastructure needed to fluoridate their water supplies. Mrs Skinner, who at the same time released a paper on the benefits of water fluoridation, said the NSW Government will undertake a suite of […]

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ADA campaigns against stupidity

Editor — Thu, 14 Feb 2013 20:04:29 +0000

The Australian Dental Association Inc. (ADA) has announced it is outraged and dismayed at governments’ lack of leadership to support the well-established scientific evidence that proves fluoridation of water supplies is safe. “The Queensland and now other State Governments’ decision to permit ill-informed Local Councils to choose to stop fluoridation of water supplies represent a […]

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One step forward, two steps backwards

Editor — Thu, 31 Jan 2013 20:33:05 +0000

Cairns Regional Council has voted to cease fluoridation of water supplies, it announced this week. The decision comes as a result of legislative changes last year to the Queensland Government’s Water Fluoridation Act 2008. Specifically, that act was reversed by The South-East Queensland Water (Restructuring) Amendment Bill, passed by Parliament in November 2012, which gave […]

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