Fluoride in drinking water is back in the spotlight. Let’s not forget how it has transformed our oral health

Fluoride is back in the news after novel US health czar Robert F. Kennedy Jr called for his removal from drinking water.

At the same time, the Australian Medical Association (Queensland) recently called on local governments to do so reintroduce fluoride to water supply in the face of the growing number of oral diseases.

So what is fluoride and why is it so controversial?

What is fluoride?

Fluoride is there natural substance found in rocks (for example the mineral fluorite) as well as in water sources, soil and plants.

The Australian Drinking Water Guidelines are recommended three compounds for water fluoridation: sodium fluoride, sodium fluorosilicate and fluorosilicic acid.

Typically, one of these compounds is added – under carefully monitored conditions – when treating drinking water before it reaches the tap.

Is it good for our teeth?

Fluoride helps prevent tooth decay by strengthening tooth enamel acid resistant due to bacteria in the mouth.

Adding petite amounts of fluoride to drinking water to prevent tooth decay began in the United States in 1945. This was because health officials in a Colorado city noticed that residents discolored but exceptionally healthy teeth.

This was due to high levels of fluoride naturally occurring in the local water. Studies later confirmed while excess fluoride may cause cosmetic discolorationlower concentrations still prevented tooth decay without harmful side effects.

Fluoride was added to water for the first time in Australia Beaconsfield, Tasmania in 1953.

Currently, approximately 90% of Australians have access to fluoridated water levels in between 0.6 to 1.1 mg/l. It is estimated that yes reduced tooth decay in Australia by 26–44%.

This depends on where you live, as different states and territories have different rules. For example, about 28% of Queenslanders not have fluoridated water.

What are people worried about?

Fluoridation has always been opposed. This covers it argument this is “government overreach” because we cannot easily give up drinking tap water.

AND 2019 study also claimed that fluoride affects children’s IQ. But this job already existed sharply criticized and a detailed study from 2024 serious weaknesses in the study design.

Numerous reviews of high-quality research from many different countries, including: US AND Australiathey found no evidence of harm.

One study looked at people over 30 yearstesting their IQ at different ages and found no relationship between fluoride levels and IQ scores.

We check what is safe and sound

It’s reasonable to want to know what’s in our drinking water and be sure it’s safe and sound. But discussions about toxicity are meaningless without context.

Excessive fluoride intake can have harmful effects such as weakening bones (skeletal fluorosis). But the key word is “excessive.”

All may be toxic for humans if the dose is too high, even for water alone. The amount of fluoride needed to cause harm is much greater than the amount obtained from drinking water.

In Australia Recommended by the National Health and Medical Research Council states and territories fluoridate their drinking water supplies at levels ranging from 0.6 to 1.1 mg/l.

Authorities recently decided to provide bottled water to children under 12 and pregnant women in two remote communities in the Northern Territory high natural fluoride levels (1.7 to 1.9 mg/l). This measure was taken as a precautionary measure in response to community concerns and not because any harmful effects had been reported.

Lessons from places that have removed fluoride

The risks of adding fluoride to water are: extremely low. However, several recent cases demonstrate the very real health risks of not fluoridating water.

The Canadian city of Calgary removed fluoride from drinking water in 2011. Seven to eight years later, the number of dental caries in children was much higher in Calgary compared to nearby Edmontonwhich did not remove fluoride.

In 2015, Buffalo, Novel York, removed fluoride from its water. Dental problems became so bad for my parents she sued the city for harming their children.

Israel is another engaging case. Introduction nationwide water fluoridation in 2002 significantly reduced dental problems in children. This trend was reversed in 2014, when fluoridation was discontinued – despite the government’s introduction of free dental care for children in 2010.

The issue of equity

Evidence consistently shows that fluoride is not only safe and sound – it also has significant benefits for oral health.

Some of the benefits of fluoride can be achieved through fluoridated toothpaste or fluoride treatment at the dentist.

But dentistry is not covered by Medicare. Water fluoridation (or table salt, used in many European countries) remains one of the fairest ways to ensure that these benefits are available not only to those who can afford them.