Fluoride debate in Hastings: Health expert says anti-fluoride campaigner using data in ‘misleading’ way to claim kids’ teeth have improved

A Fluoride Free Hawke's Bay protest on Thursday. Photo / Paul Taylor

A Hawke’s Bay health official says a claim children’s teeth have improved while fluoride has been paused in Hastings’ drinking water over the past eight years is misleading.

Earlier this month, fluoride was re-introduced to Hastings’ main drinking water supply for the first time since the Havelock North water crises in 2016.

Hastings’ water was fluoridated from the 1950s until the crises, and the city voted to keep it in a 2013 referendum, but the move has drawn opposition from anti-fluoride advocates and Fluoride Free Hawke’s Bay held a protest in Hastings on Thursday.

No other areas of Hawke’s Bay have fluoride in their drinking water.

Havelock North resident Pete Snelling, who did not attend the latest protest but is against adding fluoride to drinking water, said dental data from Health NZ Te Whatu Ora appeared to show the condition of children’s teeth in Hawke’s Bay had improved since fluoride was removed from Hastings’ water supply.

In 2015, 54.4 per cent of 5-year-olds and 59.9 per cent of Year 8 children examined in Hawke’s Bay had no tooth decay.

In 2022 (the latest available data), that improved to 56.6 per cent and 64.4 per cent respectively.

That data is publicly available and released each year by Health NZ.

“If we are to believe the science behind the effectiveness of fluoridation, then we would expect the dental health of our children to have declined significantly over the past eight years when there has been no fluoride added to our beautiful Hastings water,” Snelling said.

“It may come as a surprise then, that rather than deteriorating, the overall dental health of Hawke’s Bay children has actually improved [over that period].”

But making that comparison murky is the data is for all of Hawke’s Bay rather than Hastings only, and the 2016 data shows the health of 5-year-old children’s teeth was better than in 2022 (59.4 per cent without tooth decay).

Snelling said it was a shame the data did not have a breakdown for Hastings.

The protest on Thursday outside the Hastings District Council HQ. Photo / Paul Taylor

Health NZ Te Whatu Ora Hawke’s Bay dental public health dental specialist Dr Robin Whyman said the data referenced was from two standalone years, 2015 and 2022, and for children across all of Hawke’s Bay.

“Using that snapshot to suggest community water fluoridation is ineffective and that the oral health of Hastings children is improving is misleading,” he said.

“Fluoride in drinking water acts like a constant repair kit, neutralising the effect of acids that cause tooth decay and helps to repair the damage before it becomes permanent.”

He said the proportion of decay-free Year 8 children had been declining in more recent years, after reaching around 67 per cent to 70 per cent leading up to 2021.

“In 2022, the proportion of Hawke’s Bay [Year 8] children that were decay-free dropped to 65 per cent, followed by a further drop to 62 per cent in 2023,” he said.

“We know there are other population factors that influence oral health, such as ethnicity and socio-economic status, that aren’t controlled in the routinely collected data for the Ministry of Health.

“We need to rely on properly controlled studies to get a proper understanding of the effects of community water fluoridation.

“The role of community water fluoridation has been well examined around the world – including in New Zealand – for more than 60 years.”

He said in 2022, 302 Hawke’s Bay children aged between 0–14 years received in-patient, hospital-level care for preventable dental conditions.

“Tooth decay is the single most common chronic disease among New Zealanders of all ages.

“Community water fluoridation combined with brushing with a fluoride toothpaste and control of dietary sugar are the most effective and safe ways we can combat this disease.”

He said, anecdotally, dental clinicians in the Bay were “seeing decay that is more extensive”.

Which areas of Hastings have fluoride?

The main water supply provides water to Hastings, Havelock North, Flaxmere, Bridge Pa and Pakipaki.

Smaller communities in the Hastings district do not have fluoride at this stage.

Hastings’ water has been fluoridated since the 1950s and it was paused in late 2016 so that chlorine could be added to the water, following the Havelock North campylobacter outbreak.

Thousands of people fell sick and four people died as a result of that outbreak.

The water network has since been upgraded which means both chlorine and fluoride can be added to the water.

In July 2022, then-director general of health Dr Ashley Bloomfield directed 14 councils, including the Hastings District Council, to add fluoride to their water supplies.

There are plans for Dannevirke to have fluoride added to its water supply by the end of the year.

A referendum was held in 2013 to see if Hastings residents wanted to keep fluoride in their water, and the majority supported it staying.

Gary Hamilton-Irvine is a Hawke’s Bay-based reporter who covers a range of news topics including business, councils, breaking news and cyclone recovery. He formerly worked at News Corp Australia.