When Prince George goes to the polls on Saturday they will also be voting in a non binding referendum on fluoride in the drinking water. Despite overwhelming support from scientists and healthcare professionals around the world for the practice, polls make it look like it will be a close vote.
The NO side says money spent on fluoride could be better spent on hygiene education. But Canada’s Chief Dental Officer Peter Cooney says that just doesn’t stack up;
“Studies from the states have shown that $1 spent on fluoride will save $38 in dental costs. Some studies in Quebec say that is even higher in some areas of Canada where it goes up to over $50”
Prince George spends $56,000 year fluoridating its water. The experts say stopping will cost the city $2.5 million in dental problems, impacting the most vulnerable as low income residents can rarely afford dental care.
Cooney also cited the case of Dorval Quebec, who took the fluoride out of their water years ago;
“Then they did a study a number of years later… They found quite a dramatic increase in the dental decay levels of kids. They went up quite spectacularly and they actually made a decision at council and agreed to put fluoride back in the water”
Peter Cooney blamed the circulation on false information online as the reason behind the NO campaign. He encouraged people to check out credible sites like the World Health Organization and Canadian Medical Association for peer reviewed science on the topic.
Two table spoons of fluoride are added to every 10,000 gallon Olympic size swimming pool worth of drinking water, which studies say reduces tooth decay by at least 25%. The World Health Organization has called water fluoridation one of the top 10 public health achievements of the 20th century.
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