another win for antifluoridationists

Give yourself a big pat on the back, antifluoridation nutters. You should be given the same legal status as inciters of terrorism.

Billy

http://www.thecouriermail.news.com.au/printpage/0,5942,16669735,00.html

Kids' dental health in state of decay
Renee Viellaris
21sep05

CHILDREN as young as five are having all their teeth extracted as Queensland's tooth decay rates reach epidemic proportions.


A diet of fatty and sugary foods is to blame, as children in Brisbane's poorest suburbs have recorded some of the worst tooth decay rates in the nation.

Australian Dental Association Queensland president and State Government dentist Michael Foley said Inala, Woodridge, Caboolture, Redcliffe and parts of the Gold and Sunshine coasts recorded the most "depressing" cases.

Dr Foley blasted the Government for inaction, saying it was those lower-socio economic regions it professed to look after.

He said children with few teeth developed speech and social problems, and when their adult teeth came through they too were usually decayed from eating soft and fatty foods.

"They don't brush and they have too much sugar. At that age (4, 5 and 6) diet is probably more important than brushing," Dr Foley said.

"The really gross cases are kids with really terrible diets."

Queensland spends more than any other state on dental services, allocating about $132 million compared to NSW, which spends about $100 million and ranks second among the states on dental expenditure.

Although it was uncommon for dentists to rip out every tooth, Dr Foley said it was common practice for dentists to remove up to six teeth at a time and the problem was especially bad for students in Year 1.

He said his own studies of one Inala primary school grade showed that two-thirds of pupils had more than seven teeth that needed to be extracted or filled.

"I had a kid in earlier this year who said, 'I've only got four teeth'. He had his four six-year molar teeth and two were already decayed," Dr Foley said.

"We've got the worst teeth in the nation and we're paying a fortune for it. We spend far more than other states on Government dental services."

He called for the Government to introduce fluoride into Queensland water supplies.

The State Government in 2002 received a consultant's report that revealed the Government would save more than $1 billion during the next 30 years if it introduced fluoride to water supplies.

A spokesman for Health Minister Stephen Robertson, who yesterday launched a $5 million plan to curtail childhood obesity, said it was up to individual councils to introduce fluoride into water supplies.

Queensland Health System's Review consultant Peter Forster released an interim report in July, touting the benefits of fluoridation.

"Queensland provides the largest and most comprehensive oral health service in Australia in both proportionate and absolute terms," the report said. "In spite of this performance, the excess demand for services is reflected in extended waiting times of several years in many health service districts and mirrors pressures faced elsewhere by other states and territories that have less relative dental funding."






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