NZ - Dentist to MPs: 'I'm the ambulance at the bottom of the cliff'

Oral health experts have told MPs they need fluoride in water to help prevent rising levels of tooth decay in young children.
The health select committee is considering the Health (Fluoridation of Drinking Water) Amendment Bill, which would move the decision about whether water should be fluoridated from local councils to district health boards.
It has sparked vigorous debate between anti-fluoride campaigners and others.
Today, the clinical director of oral health services at the Hawke's Bay District Health Board, dentist Robin Whyman, said DHBs needed the power to make decisions about fluoridation in their communities, for the sake of children.
He said fluoridation was removed from water supplies in Waipukerau and Waipawa, in central Hawke's Bay, four years ago. Records revealed the damage it caused.
"In that period we've gone from 54 percent of our Māori [five-year-old] children being [tooth decay] free in central Hawke's Bay to 24 percent.
Dr Whyman said the DHB did everything it could to promote good dental health, but it was not enough without fluoride.
A stalemate had developed between local councils and DHBs on what could be a contentious topic, he said.
For example, in central Otago the community wanted fluoridation, but it was not delivered.
He said it was time that stopped. The amendment bill would do that....................

Why isn't there a real crusade against the sugar in drinks and poor diet which causes the damage not only to teeth but the whole body?