Citing a 51 per cent rise in serious tooth decay among kids over five years, city council voted 8-3 Monday to resume fluoridating the water supply.
It reverses an 8-3 vote that went the other way in 2013, when council ordered a stop to fluoridation.
“A 51 per cent increase in the quantity and severity of dental hygiene in the last five years is more than alarming to me,” Coun. Jo-Anne Gignac said as she seconded a motion by Coun. Rino Bortolin to bring back fluoride.
“It’s not the silver bullet, I recognize it. It’s not going to eliminate dental problems but it’s going to go a heck of a long way.”
The decision came after more than four hours of deliberations, with about 20 delegations passionately arguing on both sides of the divisive issue. Many local residents, backed by a national movement opposed to fluoridation, urged council to not resume “medicating” the population with a chemical they believe is harmful and minimally effective at preventing tooth decay.
On behalf of the four out of five Windsorites who support fluoridation, please put it back in our water supply
But the majority of councillors said they couldn’t deny the strong arguments presented by medical and dental experts. Five came forward throughout the night and all five stated that fluoridation is proven safe and effective, remarked Coun. Jim Morrison. He also cited a survey that showed four out of five local people supported fluoridation.
“They may be the silent majority, but they want it, they want it for the betterment of their children,” said Morrison.
Speaking on behalf of the Essex County Dental Association and the Ontario Dental Association, local dentist Dr. Charles Frank said he’s seen the increased quantity and severity of cavities in local patients since fluoride was removed. Some are children with such severe decay they must be put under general anaesthesia in the hospital.
He said he’s booking some kids for hospital treatment well into 2020.
“I just can’t keep up,” he said. “No child should have to go to be in pain and have to wait more than a year for treatment.”
Student Raymond Hoang, who lives in Ward 7, collected 237 signatures on a petition calling on city council to resume fluoridating the water supply. He spoke as a delegation on Dec. 17, 2018.
Student Raymond Hoang, who lives in Ward 7, collected 237 signatures on a petition calling on city council to resume fluoridating the water supply. He spoke as a delegation on Dec. 17, 2018.
The drive to resume fluoridation is one of the central recommendations from a 2018 Oral Health Report from the Windsor-Essex County Health Unit, which lays out dramatic declines in the oral health of the local population. Comparing Windsor-Essex, where no municipalities fluoridate, with the rest of Ontario, where 70 per cent do, the percentage of children with urgent dental needs was double, according to the health unit report.
“Let me tell you, the results are not good,” Acting Medical Officer of Health Dr. Wajid Ahmed told council.
He said the average number of cavities has gone steadily up, to the point where seven-year-olds in the community now have an average of two-and-a-half cavities. “This should be alarming for our community,” said Ahmed.
To fix the problem, a number of solutions are required including educating people and providing better access to dental care. Fluoridation is one way everyone, rich and poor, are treated equally, at a low cost and with high benefits, he said.
As executive director of Family Services Windsor-Essex, Joyce Zuk said she’s seen the demand for financial help for low-income families to seek dental treatment rise by 300 per cent, eating up the largest portion of a special fund run by her agency. She said fluoridation is one way council can address the fact Windsor has such a high child poverty rate — 30 per cent.
“When we don’t know the answer, we look to our experts to provide an answer and in this case the experts are the Windsor-Essex County Health Unit and the dental association,” said Zuk.
Voting for fluoridation were councillors Bortolin, Gignac, Fabio Costante, Chris Holt, Irek Kusmierczyk, Gary Kaschak, Kieran McKenzie and Morrison. Voting against were councillors Fred Francis and Ed Sleiman, and Mayor Drew Dilkens.
We need to consider the voice we don’t here — residents in long term care, young children and vulnerable populations
Francis said despite all the statistics presented, there was no direct co-relation between removing fluoride and the rise in tooth decay. There could have been other factors to blame, he suggested, explaining he has a problem forcing fluoridation when so many people who spoke Monday were against it.
“It’s very heavy-handed in my opinion. Without a direct co-relation I’m uncomfortable going there.”
The oral health report is full of holes and abnormalities, said Ward 9 resident Donna Mayne, citing research that links fluoride in the water to rising rates of ADHD and higher rates of fluoride in pregnant women leading to lower-IQ children.
Ward 5 resident Richard St. Denis told councillors more than 60 communities in the Great Lakes basin have removed fluoride from the water, including Windsor. “All those communities cannot be wrong,” he said.
Another resident, Cheryl Burr, said that adding fluoride to the water is unethical. The city has a mandate to provide safe drinking water, but fluoride doesn’t contribute to safe water. “The city is looking at medicating its residents in a one-size-fits-all manner,” she said.
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Ahmed countered that there is no evidence to support the claims about adverse effects of fluoridation, other than mild and occasional fluorosis – white specs on the teeth.
Dental hygienist Krista Dufour argued that fluoridation is one way that everybody — no matter their income or age — can be reached. “We need to consider the voice we don’t here — residents in long term care, young children and vulnerable populations,” she said.
Councillors Bortolin, Costante and McKenzie all contended that fluoridation is a social justice issue. Disadvantaged people get cavities at double the average rate, council was told. They don’t get the same access to dental care as people with good benefit plans, and fluoridation is one way to provide everyone, including the disadvantaged, with some protection.
Student Raymond Hoang brought a petition signed by 237 people supporting fluoridation. “This speaks to the support,” the 22-year-old said, adding that fluoridation lets kids have healthier teeth and avoids unnecessary trips to the dentist.
“On behalf of the four out of five Windsorites who support fluoridation, please put it back in our water supply,” he said.
bcross@postmedia.com
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