Canada - Poverty no excuse for fluoridation

Poverty no excuse for fluoridation

• Windsor Star
• 12 Jan 2019

Windsor city council recently heard from the public both speaking for and against putting fluoride back in the city’s drinking water. Council also heard a scathing report from the Windsor Essex County Health Unit that made councillors reverse their stand on fluoride.

The report said in part, there is a “51 per cent increase over five years in the percentage of children with tooth decay requiring urgent care. In addition, the percentage of local children with urgent dental needs was double the Ontario average.” However, the 2017 Canadian Dental Association report on The State of Oral Health in Canada reads differently: “Collectively, Canadians have experienced significant decreases in levels of dental decay over the past 40 years,” according to Health Canada’s Report on the Findings of the Oral Health Component of the Canadian Health Measures Survey.

The percentage of the population that consults a dentist per year increased from 49.5 per cent to 74.5 per cent.

The percentage of children with at least one decayed tooth decreased from 74 per cent to 23.6 per cent.

The percentage of adolescents with at least one decayed tooth decreased from 96.6 per cent to 58.8 per cent. The average number of decayed, missing or filled teeth (per child) decreased from six to 2.5,

The percentage of adults with no natural teeth decreased from 23.6 per cent to 6.4 per cent.

Please don’t use poverty as an excuse to add fluoride to drinking water. Individuals need to be shown proper techniques when using toothpaste to brush their teeth. If council really cares about dental health, there are other programs available. Don’t throw the baby out with the fluoride-laced bath water.

Brian McNamara, LaSalle