Fluoridation: The Gleaming White Tooth About Cost

Annual Conference

The addition of fluoride to drinking-water is a method of reducing dental caries, supported by the World Health Organisation and the World Dental Federation. Currently, there is no legislation in New Zealand requiring fluoride addition to water supplies; therefore fluoridation is undertaken at the discretion of the drinking-water supplier. However, if the proposed Health (Fluoridation of Drinking-Water) Amendment Bill is passed, the responsibility for adding fluoride into drinking-water supplies would shift from local government to District Health Boards (DHBs) and many Councils are likely to be required to fluoridate their supplies.

A study by the Sapere Research Group in 2015, with fluoridation cost inputs by Beca, evaluated the benefits and costs of water fluoridation in New Zealand. This study was summarised in the 2016 Water NZ paper titled Cost and Benefits of Drinking-water Fluoridation. It found that for water treatment plants (WTPs) supplying populations over 500, introduction of fluoride to drinking water could provide a net discounted saving over 20 years of $1,401 million. Despite the potential savings in dental treatment, addition of fluoride to drinking-water is likely to come at significant cost for drinking-water suppliers with multiple smaller WTPs.

This study uses Waimakariri District Council as a case study. These WTPs serve population equivalents of between 100 and 18,000 people and, if mandated by the DHB, would be upgraded to meet the best practice requirements outlined in the Code of Practice for Fluoridation of Drinking-water Supplies. The likely capital and operational costs of upgrading 13 WTPs to include fluoridation is compared to the Sapere study costs and commentary on the likelihood of realising the benefits is made.

Conference Papers

FLUORIDATION THE GLEAMING WHITE TOOTH ABOUT COST.pdf

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28 Sep 2018