The Australian Dental Association Inc. (ADA) has condemned the deafening silence from the major political parties on the importance and oral health benefits of water fluoridation throughout the Federal Election campaign.
Dr Karin Alexander, Federal President of the ADA, said: “We understand that the Federal Government does not have direct power over water supplies. However, that does not mean the future Federal Government has the right to stand idly by while Queensland and NSW divest their responsibility to public health. The Federal Government should not allow Local Councils to be swayed by fringe groups who peddle fear, innuendo and conspiracy theories to remove fluoride or discontinue its use from water supplies.
“The political parties during this election campaign have so far failed to take the lead and combat these developments. We expect more.
“Water fluoridation is safe and offers oral health benefits for all people regardless of whether they are rich or poor. Not having fluoride in drinking water will cost the community more in the form of higher incidence of dental decay. Public hospital and private practice dentists will be placed in a position where they will be required to treat more cases of dental emergencies which could have been prevented through water fluoridation. After treating these dental emergencies, dentists will then need to apply fluoride to prevent future problems! This farcical situation is likely greater in areas where fluoride has been removed from water supplies.
“The Child Dental Benefits Scheme, which has bipartisan support, will be called on to fund more fillings or extractions if there is no longer support for fluoride. Does the future Federal Government really want to create further dental problems that will cost more to fix later?”.
The ADA calls on the political parties to show their commitment to one of the top 10 public health initiatives of the 20th Century by requiring that water fluoridation of communities be a condition of funding for the States and Territories. National Partnership Agreements and the National Oral Health Plan, which already recommends fluoridation, are examples where the future Federal Government can make a difference.
“The ADA urges the political parties to have the courage to get into the debate, show some leadership and back the science and the experts to improve the dental health of all Australians,” Dr Alexander concluded.
