Editorial: Govt should get its teeth into national disgrace

In one recent 12-month period 29,000 New Zealand children under 12 had to have one or more teeth removed as a result of severe cavities and infection. Photo / File

The state of our children's teeth is a national disgrace

A new report, called Too Soon for the Tooth Fairy: The implications of Child Poverty for Oral Health, reveals that in the 2015/2016 year, 29,000 New Zealand children under 12 had to have one or more teeth removed as a result of severe cavities and infection.

Most cases were preventable, and there was a strong association with poverty.

So it makes sense that one way to target improvement would be to target poverty.

The report suggests actions including boosting family incomes as well as educating parents and a sugar tax.

It also recommends advocating "for introducing fluoride into local water supplies which are currently not fluoridated".

Of course mentioning the F word is like a red rag to a bull for some.

And the report does concede there are challenges when it comes to community water fluoridation, so much so that in some areas it makes more sense to explore alternative options of making fluoride available, for example free toothpaste and toothbrushes.

The other big challenge is heavy vocal opposition from anti-fluoridation groups, groups who heap pressure on the local councils who control fluoridation.

The Health (Fluoridation of Drinking Water) Amendment Bill is at its second reading. The bill would give local DHBs the power to decide.

This makes a lot more sense than leaving it up to local councils. But why has the Ministry of Health passed the buck with this bill? Isn't this a crisis? For the sake of those 29,000 children, shouldn't central government do the right thing and make the right call itself?