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State of Origin shows in Queenslanders’ rotten teeth
14 June 2006
State of Origin takes on a whole different meaning in dentistry terms as Queensland dentists step up to the plate to barrack for fluoridation as a safe, easy and effective means of helping tackle the epidemic of tooth decay in this state, and implement the wishes of the majority.
Surveys in 2004 and 2005 show that most Queenslanders want what is available to 75 percent of Australians in other states – fluoridation on tap – but petty politics keeps blocking the pipeline while the waters are muddied from the sidelines by a small but noisy minority peddling misinformation.
But a new website and online petition developed by the Australian Dental Association Queensland Branch (ADAQ) puts the facts on the line and adds punch to the rising chorus of support for fluoridation to help lift Queenslanders from the bottom of the table in having the “worst teeth in the nation”.
Launching the new www.fluoridationqld.com website today, ADAQ Branch President Robert McCray said he was delighted to have the support of leading Australian medical professionals such as Professor John Pearn as a fluoridation “advocate”.
Dr McCray said Professor Pearn – who was 2005 Queensland Senior Australian of the Year – had impeccable medical credentials as Professor of Paediatrics & Child Health, and Preceptor of the School of Medicine within the Faculty of Health Sciences at The University of Queensland.
“Professor Pearn is one of many fluoridation advocates whose support gives Queenslanders the confidence to start actively lobbying their local and state government representatives to introduce this public health measure, albeit decades after other states embraced it,” Dr McCray said.
On the website, Professor Pearn states: “Seventy-five percent of Australian children have the privilege and protection of correctly-adjusted fluoridation levels in their domestic water supplies; but regretfully and shamefully, only five percent of Queensland children are similarly protected. This has implications not only in the increased dental caries rate amongst children during their formative years; but has implications also for lifelong dental health as well.”
Dr McCray said the consequences of Queensland’s failure to fluoridate is reflected in Queenslanders’ teeth – they are much more likely to have tooth decay and require ongoing “drilling and filling” with the associated pain, suffering, trauma, costs, and cosmetic impacts.
The 2005 Forster Report recommended Queenslanders have an informed debate about fluoridation and the Beattie Government has offered to fund the local government infrastructure costs required to fluoridate community water supplies, but none have taken up the offer.
“Queensland taxpayers could save $1 billion in health care over 30 years if water fluoridation was readily available. It is beyond dispute that fluoridation is a safe, easy and effective way improving oral health and reducing the need for more drilling and filling.”
Dr McCray said the www.fluoridationqld.com was deliberately written for a non-scientific audience, and had an actions page which includes an online petition, a draft letter to be sent to local and state government decision-makers, and access to a bumper sticker to drive the message home.
For more details, contact Dr Robert McCray on 0412 145 771 or Jane Milburn on 0408 787 964
All of the information included on this web site is accurate to the best of knowledge of the Australian Dental Association (Queensland Branch). To make the text more readable for non-scientists, ADAQ has deliberately minimised attributions and links to supporting files or scientific attachments. However these sources are readily available if required and many can be found via www.health.qld.gov.au/fluoride. |
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Give Queenslanders something to smile about