Benefits of Water Fluoridation

Barb Long, Plunket area manager for Otago and Southland:

"If you protect your kids from a car crash by putting them in a car seat and prevent them getting an infectious disease by immunising, surely you will support fluoride to stop their teeth rotting?

"Supporting fluoride is an easy decision if you think about your children's health.

"The impact of decay is insidious with preschoolers.  It starts as discomfort, moves into ongoing pain and produces real trauma when young children require dental interventions that frighten them.  And the terrible thing is it's reducible, even preventable.

"I think if you look at the data for kids five years of age, there's something like a 10% difference in decay between fluoridated and non-fluoridated areas in Otago alone.  There's always going to be kids that have soft teeth and there will still be decay, but fluoride makes a real difference.

"What 'dental interventions' as a term doesn't describe, is the reality of trying to treat preschools with oral health problem.  Try to keep a preschoolers mouth open while a dental therapist works on them.  Visualise that preschooler having to go for a general anaesthetic when they are unable to be still for a procedure.  Imagine the stress on a parent's face as their preschooler is sedated.  This is the reality of preschoolers with decay."

Barb can't understand why people would turn down the opportunity to have fluoride.

"if you immunise your children, why wouldn't you support fluoride in your water?  It's the preventative approach to a whole lot of problems.  I'd say vote for fluoridation."