Fluoridated water safe, essential for preventive health
Fluoridated water is a safe and evidence-based investment to reduce tooth decay and long-term chronic tooth pain in Queenslanders, AMA Queensland President Dr Nick Yim told ABC Radio Sunshine Coast. "The evidence is crystal clear that fluoride is safe. We have numerous experts, we have evidence now, we have long-term data that it is very, very safe, and it does prevent tooth decay."
Transcript: AMA Queensland President, Dr Nick Yim, ABC Radio Sunshine Coast, mornings with Sarah Howells, Friday 27 September 2024
Subject: Fluoridated water
SARAH HOWELLS: Now Gympie Council is flirting with the idea of pulling fluoride from water after councillors yesterday appeared to largely sympathise with a 650-signature petition opposing the oral health plan. Now this petition, which was originally to be considered by the council in December last year but was missed due to a staff error, has had significant questions raised around it such as it containing misinformation – things like the fluoride being used in drinking water being industrial waste, with some of its signatories being based in other countries.
But despite those issues and despite council officers in yesterday’s meeting pointing out clear health benefits to the substance and briefing of counsellors by health experts ahead of the meeting, counsellors came pretty close to pulling fluoride from the drinking supply on the spot, stopped by a technicality in the process and the news that taking that move immediately would cost ratepayers $100,000. In the end, councillors voted to bounce the issue back to staff to prepare a new report on the issue, and Gympie Mayor Glen Hartwig says the next step will be to take the question to the community.
SARAH HOWELLS: That is Gympie Mayor Glen Hartwig. Dr Nick Yim is the President of the Australian Medical Association Queensland. Dr Yim, let's start with the simple – how does fluoride in water improve oral health?
DR NICK YIM: So, fluoride has been around for many, many years and unfortunately in Queensland a few years ago, the previous Queensland Government did remove the mandatory requirement of fluoride in the water system. Fluoride does protect the teeth, it's in very, very low doses in the water supply and it has been shown to prevent tooth decay.
SARAH HOWELLS: So how do we in Queensland compare to other states when it comes to this, then?
DR NICK YIM: So, in Queensland it's actually quite interesting. There are some parts of Queensland that still have fluoride in their water system, and the evidence has shown that the areas that do have fluoride actually have lower rates of tooth decay. The concerning thing is, currently in Queensland, one in 10 people don't have enough teeth to have functional chewing. And as you can imagine, if you don't have enough teeth that are functional, it can lead to other issues such as poor nutrition and other chronic diseases.
SARAH HOWELLS: Fluoride is one of these ones that's an old conspiracy theory. You know, particularly those claims, such as what's been put into drinking water is an industrial waste product. How much damage is that doing?
DR NICK YIM: It's an interesting one, isn't it? And it's something where the evidence is crystal clear that fluoride is safe. We have numerous experts, we have evidence now, we have long-term data that it is very, very safe, and it does prevent tooth decay. The problem is, at the moment, we have seen a big influx. I'm a GP in the Wide Bay that unfortunately doesn't have fluoride in our system, and we are seeing increased wait times for public dental. And as you can imagine with our children, they are waiting longer, experiencing pain, maybe more time off school. Long-term wise, people who have chronic pain around their teeth, obviously that can lead to other health conditions such as anxiety and depression.
SARAH HOWELLS: Well, Gympie councillors were primed to vote to remove fluoride from the water. They only really stepped back when they were told that removing it would cost $100,000. Is that disturbing?
DR NICK YIM: I think that's actually a very, very small investment. So, from an investment point of view, it's actually less than a dollar a day per individual for a year. So, it's something where it's very, very cheap, $100,000 actually will be saving a lot more money to prevent the consequences of someone who has tooth decay and chronic illnesses from a health care system point of view.
SARAH HOWELLS: Well, the council is now waiting on a report from the council's CEO before pulling the plug on fluoride. What will AMA Queensland be doing to change their minds?
DR NICK YIM: I think the key thing here is reflecting on the evidence. It is not just AMA Queensland, we've got the Australian Dental Association as well. It's something where we have been working very, very hard with all councillors and the Queensland Government for many years now to advocate for the benefits of fluoridation in our water supply.
We want to ensure that we are keeping Queenslanders safe, and we are wanting to prevent long-term consequences of poor dentition such as chronic pain in the teeth and decay. And also, we know that when we have poor dentition, that can also lead to other health conditions as well like heart disease, chronic pain and mental health issues. So, this is really important to ensure that Gympie maintains fluoride in their water system.
SARAH HOWELLS: So will AMA Queensland be reaching out to Gympie Council?
DR NICK YIM: I'll speak to my team and obviously it's something where we'll touch base with them, I guess probably via email. But I think it's really important that Gympie Council does maintain fluoride in the water system.
SARAH HOWELLS: That is Dr Nick Yim, from AMA Queensland this morning on ABC Sunshine Coast.
Robin, you say you read the Wikipedia page – fluoride is not all good, adults don't need supplements, toothpaste is enough. Thank you very much. Jason In Caloundra, you say that studies have found that in the States that fluoride lowers IQ. Who wants that? Actually Jason, I believe that was debunked and was not actually the case.
Interestingly, locally there has been a study done on that this year by the University of Queensland, which says that Queenslanders from lower socio-economic areas are at higher risk of dental disease due to a lack of fluoridated water. So, they've said about 80 per cent of people in Queensland have access to fluoridated water, mostly thanks to councils in the South-East in those areas of higher socioeconomic status. But areas of socio-economic disadvantage in the state were less likely to have access to fluoridated water and its benefits for oral health, which is really interesting. They say that means that people have an avoidable greater risk of poor oral health outcomes. That research coming from UQ’s School of Dentistry.
