Young Hamish’s crown reveals the dirty tooth about fluoride and regional Queensland’s water supplies

Ask this Cairns mum why her city’s water supply should be flouridated and she’ll point to the silver cap on her five-year-old son’s back molar as evidence.

Cairns kids Hamish and Astrid Thorpe, with their mum Laura, brush their teeth twice a day. Picture Emily Barker.

Ask Cairns mum Laura Thorpe why her city’s water supply should be flouridated and she’ll point to the silver cap on five-year-old son Hamish’s back molar as evidence.

“We call it his Iron Man tooth to try and make it something positive,” the Earlville resident says.

Five-year-old Hamish Thorpe practices his tooth brushing technique at home in Cairns. Picture Emily Barker.

At just three, the cheeky tyke went under general anaesthetic to have a stainless steel crown and multiple fillings inserted, costing the family thousands of dollars in the process.

“We noticed a brown mark in the middle of his back tooth,” Ms Thorpe recalls. “You can’t really remove baby teeth because it needs to hold space for the adult tooth.

“So we took him to the dentist and he needed fillings.”

“He went into day surgery so it was less traumatic and he could keep going back to the dentist without being scared.”

An unidentified young oral health patient from Far North Queensland who recently required surgery due to tooth decay. Picture: Supplied

Ms Thorpe’s experience isn’t unusual.

Cairns and Hinterland Hospital and Health Service (CHHHS) has recorded a 56 per cent increase in the number of children under the age of 15 who have received dental treatment under general anaesthetic over the last two years.

The service, along with dozens of Far North health experts, have lobbied for fluoride to be re-introduced into the city’s water supply, citing the mineral’s ability to prevent tooth decay.

But in December Cairns councillors voted against the public health measure, six votes to three, despite being recommended by more than 150 major health organisations worldwide.

“I am definitely pro having fluoride in the water,” Ms Thorpe says. “I was surprised when we got a new mayor (Amy Eden) and they said, ‘No. It’s still not happening.’

“Prevention’s always better than a cure. It’s something that can help everybody.”

Three-year-old Astrid Thorpe practices her tooth brushing technique with mum Laura Thorpe. Picture Emily Barker.

Ms Thorpe says the family has brushed up on ways to make sure two-year-old daughter Astrid avoids any major dental procedures in the near future.

“I take them to the dentist for check ups regularly,” the Far North pharmacist says.

“We’re really careful because we saw how easily it could happen. We didn’t have strong fluoride toothpastes but we use adult strength now.

“We just didn’t realise how easily tooth decay could occur.”

Australian Medical Association Queensland president Dr Nick Yim is a strong advocate for fluoridating water supplies across the state. (Image/Josh Woning)

The campaign against fluoridation lacked evidence to support the argument, Australian Medical Association Queensland president Dr Nick Yim says.

“It’s actually been in Australia for many years and the research is undisputable,” Dr Yim says.

“There’s over 70 years of research. There are no serious side effects that we’ve noted across those many years of research.

“It’s very safe and effective at preventing dental decay.”

In 2012, former premier Campbell Newman gave Queensland councils the power to opt out of mandatory fluoridation, with Cairns Regional Council later removing the tooth-strengthening mineral from its water supply the following year.

Just 26 of the Sunshine State’s 77 councils currently fluoridate their water supply.

Originally published as Young Hamish’s crown reveals the dirty tooth about fluoride and regional Queensland’s water supplies