Fluoride study: Call for a Rotorua rethink

FILE

The Rotorua District Council should reconsider adding fluoride to the city's water supply now a scientific review has found fluoridation to be safe, says a local medical expert.

The medical officer of health for Toi Te Ora Public Health Service, Neil de Wet, said the review, Health Effects of Water Fluoridation: a Review of the Scientific Evidence, had reaffirmed that fluoridation was safe and effective.

Commissioned by the Prime Minister's chief science adviser, Sir Peter Gluckman, and the president of the Royal Society of New Zealand, Sir David Skegg, the review looked at the scientific evidence for and against the efficacy and safety of fluoridation of public water supplies, finding the levels used in New Zealand created no health risks and provided protection against tooth decay.

Released yesterday, it was reviewed by three international experts and the director of the National Poisons Centre.

Dr de Wet said: "[The review] also made it quite clear that the arguments against fluoridation do not have any scientific basis."

He said oral health was an important issue in Rotorua, as the district had one of the poorest oral health indicators for children in New Zealand.

Rotorua district councillors last month reversed a decision to go ahead with a binding public referendum on the controversial issue, meaning Rotorua's water will remain fluoride-free.

"This is a report every councillor should read," Dr de Wet said.

"I hope the Rotorua council will reconsider the issue in light of this report."

Fluoride Free New Zealand's Rotorua spokesman, Alan Solomon, said while he hadn't read the review yet, he wasn't convinced.

"Regardless of the studies that suggest fluoride is not a poison, there are just as many that say it is," he said.

Mr Solomon said there were a number of alternatives to fluoridation, including education and offering free dental centre for children and teens up to the age of 17.

Sir David said the review included an extensive evaluation by a panel of five experts, as well as one lay observer with local body experience.

According to the report, the only side effect of fluoridation at the levels used in New Zealand was mild dental fluorosis. This was found to be as common in non-fluoridated areas as it was in fluoridated areas, the report said.