The Daily Populous Thursday October 16th, 2025 day edition
Authored by abc.net.au and submitted by shoofinsmertz

Rates of tooth decay in Queensland primary schoolchildren have plummeted since the expansion of water fluoridation in the state, a new study has found.

There's been renewed focus on water fluoridation since two local councils voted to remove it from drinking water in the past 12 months.

The majority of Queensland councils are washing their hands of fluoridation The latest Queensland council's decision to stop fluoridating water has left Queensland public health experts gagging, writes Janelle Miles.

Researchers compared the teeth of almost 8,000 students aged between five and 14 years from randomly-selected public and private schools between 2021-24, in a study designed to evaluate the dental health benefits of exposure to fluoride.

They found 38.8 per cent of the children aged five to 10 years had some decay in their baby teeth.

That was down from 49.5 per cent of children studied in 2010-12 when water fluoridation was being rolled out across Queensland under the 2008 Bligh government mandate.

In 2012, then-premier Campbell Newman ditched that mandate, allowing local governments to opt out of water fluoridation.

Gympie Regional Council was the latest to vote to remove fluoride from its water supply, following on from Cook Shire Council in the state's Far North, which did so in February.

Today, more than 70 per cent of Queenslanders still have access to fluoridated drinking water, including most of the state's heavily-populated south-east.

But the majority of Queensland’s 77 local governments no longer add the mineral to their water supply.

The 2021-24 Queensland Child Oral Health Study found the average number of tooth surfaces that had decay in the five to 10 age group was 2.9, compared with 4.1 a decade ago — a 24 per cent drop.

Lead researcher Loc Do, of the University of Queensland's School of Dentistry, found the improvements in tooth decay were mostly in newly fluoridated areas.

He said the significant benefit of water fluoridation remained even after socio-economic factors and health behaviours were accounted for, and was maintained in older children with adult teeth.

The latest Queensland Child Oral Health Study shows around 40 per cent of Queensland children have at least one sugar-sweetened drink a day. (ABC News: Lucas Hill)

Professor Do said he was "devastated" that local governments continued to pull out of water fluoridation in Queensland, given it was "effective and safe".

"That's not good news for population oral health," he said.

"Children who have poor oral health when they are young, are much more likely to have poor oral health when they grow up.

" Having dental decay can negatively impact on people's social lives, on their eating and a quality of life overall. "

Queensland Chief Dental Officer Dr Ben Stute said he could not comment on government policy. (Supplied)

Queensland Chief Dentist Ben Stute would not comment on government policy but said the study "certainly provide[d] more evidence to support water fluoridation".

"It is very representative from all parts of Queensland and done to a very high standard," Dr Stute said.

"Because it is such a large sample we can really look at different areas, so the evidence can be really relevant for different councils."

Professor Do outlined the results of the survey on Tuesday at a workshop in Brisbane where researchers and policy makers discussed ways to improve child dental health.

'One of the most important public health policies'

Australian Dental Association spokeswoman Monica Farrelly, who was not involved in the research, described it as "very rigorous".

"We went through all the methodology today and what the research team has done is very sound," Dr Farrelly said.

"It provides us with a lot of good data to support the use of water fluoridation.

"The Australian Dental Association does support water fluoridation. It's probably one of the most important public health policies that we can suggest … as well as use of fluoride toothpaste."

Australian Dental Association spokesperson Dr Monica Farrelly says the study is "very rigorous". (ABC News: Emma Pollard)

Professor Do's study, funded by the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC), is yet to be published in a peer-reviewed scientific journal.

But the results are highly anticipated world-wide.

"This is probably one of the largest and most comprehensive studies internationally investigating the effectiveness of, and safety of water fluoridation, using the before and after design," Professor Do said.

University of Queensland dentist and oral epidemiologist, Professor Loc Do, led the Queensland Child Oral Health Study. (ABC News: Marton Dobras)

His previous research found no negative link between childhood exposure to fluoridated water and IQ.

The latest findings have been released as confidence in public health measures, such as water fluoridation, are eroded by misinformation, particularly in the United States under Health and Human Services secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr, who has been pushing for states to remove fluoride from drinking water.

Professor Do said further analysis of the Queensland data was anticipated, with research into the cost-benefit of water fluoridation expected.

letdogsvote on October 15th, 2025 at 15:29 UTC »

Meanwhile, in the United States...

DiamondBurInTheRough on October 15th, 2025 at 15:04 UTC »

I’m a dentist in the US. Our government is trying to walk back water fluoridation. This will result in more treatment needed, which means more money in my pockets, and I still think it’s a stupid fucking idea.

Future_Usual_8698 on October 15th, 2025 at 14:51 UTC »

Of course it has- fluoridation of water has been proven to reduce tooth decay years ago?