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The passing of a new bill will likely result in northern public water sources being dosed with fluoride next year.
Currently, Rodney is the only former district in the Auckland region not to fluoridate its water supply and none of the 17 public water sources in the Northland region are fluoridated.
This month, the Fluoridation of Drinking Water Amendment Bill passed its third reading in Parliament and became law.
It puts the decision-making power to fluoridate a water source in the hands of the Director-General of Health rather than individual councils.
The Ministry of Health expects that Director-General Ashley Bloomfield will start issuing directions to fluoridate to suppliers from the “middle of next year”.
The new bill says councils will be given a date “considered reasonably practicable” for them to comply. Councils could be fined up to $10,000 per day for noncompliance.
The new bill requires the Director-General to consider the effectiveness of fluoride in reducing tooth decay, as well as the cost of fluoridating, versus the current cost of dental treatment when deciding whether to fluoridate.
The Ministry of Health has prepared documentation to inform the Director General’s decisions.
In 2016, it commissioned a research consultancy to produce a cost-benefit analysis for each District Health Board.
In the Auckland region, including the Waitemata District Health Board, fluoridation stands to save the Government up to $836 million a year. In Northland, it would save up to $54 million.
In Rodney, there are eligible treatment plants in Warkworth, Wellsford and Snells Beach. In the Kaipara District there are plants in Dargaville, Ruawai and Maungaturoto.
Private water supplies, such as households with water tanks, will not be required to fluoridate.
The Ministry of Health says that an oral health survey in 2009 showed that children and adolescents living in areas with fluoridated water had 40 per cent less tooth decay than those without.
