Fluoride decision welcomed
The dentist who first pressed for fluoride to be added to a South Taranaki town’s water supply has welcomed a Supreme Court judgment that will finally allow it to go ahead after a legal battle that lasted nearly six years.
Sandie Pryor ran a practice in Pa¯ tea for 22 years and saw a clear difference in the rate of tooth decay in children there when compared to youngsters in neighbouring Ha¯ wera, where fluoride was added to the water supply.
She first approached South Taranaki District Council about adding fluoride to Pa¯ tea’s water in 2009, and asked again two years later when work was taking place on the town’s supply.
After public consultation the STDC decided in December 2012 to add fluoride to the water in both Pa¯tea and Waverley, a decision which resulted in a legal challenge by anti-fluoride protesters who argued it was a medicine and as such people had the legal right to refuse it.
This legal battle was finally settled on Wednesday when the Supreme Court ruled that although fluoride did amount to a medical treatment, the council was justified in introducing it to the water supply and that was not constrained by section 11 of the Bill of Rights Act.
‘‘I think it’s wonderful really,’’ Pryor, who now works part-time at Ha¯wera Hospital, said. ‘‘I’m very pleased.’’
Fluoride was only one weapon in the fight for good oral health, ‘‘but it clearly makes one of the big differences’’.
‘‘I have been a dentist since 1982 and I see a lot. It’s your experience that gives you that knowledge.’’
After the court decision the group Fluoride Free New Zealand issued a statement in which it said the introduction of fluoride was a breach of human rights, posed a health risk and was ineffective.
Pryor said if people didn’t want fluoride they could use water filters, ‘‘but don’t take it away from the people who need it’’.
South Taranaki District Council, which has for decades added fluoride to the water in Ha¯ wera, Normanby, Okaiawa and Ohawe, has yet to announce when it will introduce it to Pa¯ tea and Waverley. Meanwhile, Dr Jonathon Jarman, Taranaki District Health Board Medical Officer, said he was very pleased the ‘‘drawn out process is finally over’’.