Queensland oral health study confirms key benefits of water fluoridation

A major study of the teeth of thousands of schoolchildren across Queensland has found rates of tooth decay have decreased since water fluoridation was introduced.

Researchers compared the teeth of almost 8,000 students aged between five and 14 years from randomly selected public and private schools between 2021-24, in a study designed to evaluate the dental health benefits of exposure to fluoride.

They found 38.8 per cent of the children aged five to 10 years had some decay in their baby teeth.

That was down from 49.5 per cent of children studied in 2010-12 when water fluoridation was being rolled out across Queensland under the 2008 Bligh government mandate.