Cairns residents are still divided on a decade long oral health decision, to fluoride or not fluoride

Cairns residents are divided on a decade long oral health decision, should fluoride be added back into the city’s water supply, find out the survey result breakdown here.

Cairns residents are divided on a decade long oral health decision, should fluoride be added back into the city’s water supply, find out the survey result breakdown here. Picture: Alastair Pike / AFP.

Almost half of residents surveyed believe flouride should be added to Cairns’ water supply.

But Cairns Regional Council Mayor Amy Eden said there was no “overwhelming community support either for or against”.

As part of the 2024 Our Cairns survey, 37 per cent of the 10,000 surveyed were against the move, 48 per cent were in support, and 15 per cent were unsure.

Ms Eden said the state government “should never have never hand-balled the responsibility” to council in 2012.

“Oral health is, and always has been, the responsibility of the state government, not councils,” she said.

“It is up to the state government and chief health officer who are best placed to make these kinds of decisions on health to address this issue on a statewide basis if they believe it’s important to do so.”

It comes after it was revealed extreme dental surgery was being performed on Far North Queensland children, compelling health experts to lobby council to fluoridate its water supply in September.

Fluoridating Cairns’ water supply would help address “health inequities” in the region, the Cairns GP group says. Picture: Brendan Radke

Cairns residents were surveyed in 2016 and again this year, with the recent survey revealing results similar to those of the previous survey.

“It’s evident that there’s no overwhelming community support either for or against the fluoridation of the Cairns water supply,” Ms Eden said.

Cairns Regional Council Mayor Amy Eden said there was no overwhelming community support either ‘for’ or ‘against’ the fluoridation of the Cairns water supply. Picture Emily Barker.

Council “reaffirmed” its position not to fluoridate the Cairns Regional Council water supply due to an “ethical public health policy”, which states “mass involuntary medication should not proceed without the express consent of the community”.

Council also said there were methods, other than through the water supply, which can be used to deliver fluoride to those who are “most in need”.

“It is evident there are methods, other than through the water supply, that can be used to deliver fluoride to those who are most in need of improved oral health care outcomes,” council’s position reads.

Ms Eden said if health professional and residents want fluoride in the Cairns water supply, they needed to lobby the state government and local MPs.

“Council will be extending an invitation to the CHO (chief health officer) to brief council on his position on fluoride, and we are scheduling in requests for deputations from local health professionals who would like to address councillors,” she said.

Originally published as Cairns residents are still divided on a decade long oral health decision, to fluoride or not fluoride