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• Calgary Herald
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October 29, 2019 • October 31, 2019 • Read for 3 minutes • Join the conversation 
A new report on fluoridation sparked an emotional debate in Calgary City Hall. Photo by Brendan Miller /Postal media
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Eight years after Calgary officials decided to end water fluoridation, the city council revisited the issue with the release of a new expert report on the benefits and harms of fluoridation and a heated debate in town hall on Tuesday.
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A steady stream of health experts, researchers, doctors and citizens took turns on the microphone until late in the evening, urging council members to either reintroduce fluoridation or keep it off.
A Calgary dentist who volunteers at free dental clinics urged councilors to reintroduce fluoridation and shared her experience with child patients from low-income families who are more likely to suffer from dental caries.
“Every child that came in was in pain, had an infection, and was crying,” said Dr. Wendy Street-Wadey. “That affects you as an individual, especially when we know that we could only take care of your worst tooth decay and then you go back on a waiting list for who knows how long.”
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Some of Dr. Data presented to Cora Constantinescu suggest a 700% increase in dental infections at Alberta Children’s Hospital since the fluoride was removed from Calgary water in 2011. #yyccc pic.twitter.com/ehUt9x7GnL
– Meghan Potkins (@mpotkins) October 29, 2019
The debate that began in the council chambers spilled over into the hallway of the town hall when critics and supporters used verbal blows during a break in the session.
A spokesman for Safe Water Calgary, an anti-fluoridation group, criticized the evidence presented by University of Calgary health experts suggesting that children living in communities with fluoridation had an average of 1.2 fewer permanent teeth with tooth decay .
“It’s not safe, it’s not effective. It’s neither moral nor ethical, “said Dr. Robert Dickson, a family doctor in northwest Calgary. “Are you going to infect a child’s brain, thyroid, bones, even teeth with fluorosis – to save half of a cavity in the course of their life? I do not think so.”
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Dickson and other anti-fluoride proponents grappled with reporters with proponents of fluoridation during a chaotic media crush.
“That’s weak evidence,” said Juliet Guichon of Calgarians For Kids’ Health in response to comments from prominent fluoridation critic Paul Connett. Connett yelled back, “The people who promote fluoridation are acting like propagandists.”
Committee members heard from local health experts who pointed to data suggesting that since 2011, when fluoridation was discontinued, Calgary has seen more children attending emergency rooms for dental problems and a 700 percent increase in dental infections requiring IV Requiring antibiotics at Alberta Children’s Hospital.
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Mary Anne Schleinich speaks out against the use of fluoride in the debate on Tuesday. Photo by Brendan Miller / Postmedia
“Based on all of the evidence, the Alberta Health Service would recommend that the city consider reintroducing municipal water fluoridation,” said Dr. David Strong, a provincial health officer at AHS.
“Fluoride is already in Calgary’s drinking water, but on average at a level that does not protect against tooth decay. Restoring fluoridation in the community would essentially only bring our water to this protected level. “
Despite passionate appeals from experts and advocates, the city acknowledged that there is currently no money available for further work on the feasibility or implementation of water fluoridation – or other community-level dental initiatives.
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Previous estimates by the city suggest that upgrading water treatment plants could cost around $ 6 million to return fluoridation to Calgary’s drinking water supply.
Although no decision was expected from the meeting, the committee said the U of C’s O’Brien Institute for Public Health report and public comment would be received “on public record.”
Councilors indicated that the province’s benefits of fluoridation would accrue to the province through lower health care costs due to fewer tooth decay and complications, while the cost of reintroducing fluoridation is currently borne by the city.
Committee chairman Cons. Gian-Carlo Carra said that if the province were to take responsibility for fluoridation, “it would be a done deal”.
“When this is not the case, or when a government takes responsibility for this issue, it becomes a little more complex,” he said.
Correction: An earlier version of this article contained a quote from Juliet Guichon that read, “This is fake evidence.” The comment was shouted during a great, disorganized media scramble. After reviewing the audio from the event, Postmedia corrected the article to accurately reflect Guichon’s actual comment: “This is weak evidence.”
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