Why councils cutting fluoride could cost seniors like you thousands at the dentist

Another Queensland council has reignited debate over public health, choosing to strip fluoride from its water supply despite decades of scientific evidence showing the benefits.

The decision has rattled seniors in particular, many of whom already struggle with dental care costs and limited access to services in regional towns.

For communities like Gympie, the move signals not just a policy change but a deeper divide in basic health protections across the state.

Queensland’s patchy fluoridation record has been a point of contention since 2012, when the state government shifted responsibility for water fluoridation to local councils.

That year, the Newman government amended legislation so councils could decide whether or not to fluoridate their water supplies—along with carrying the associated costs.

Since then, Queensland has become unique among Australian states for its inconsistent coverage.

Currently, 51 of Queensland’s 77 councils do not fluoridate their public water supplies, despite national and international health bodies recommending the practice.

The latest council to withdraw was Gympie Regional Council, which voted five to three on 25 September to decommission its fluoridation infrastructure.

That decision followed similar moves in Cook Shire, Burdekin Shire, and Cairns Regional Council, with Cooktown residents set to lose access to fluoridated water from 28 March 2025.

A Growing Divide Between Regions

Queensland’s situation has created what health experts describe as a two-tiered system where access to fluoridation depends largely on postcode.

National data showed that 79.4 per cent of Queenslanders still had access to fluoridated water, but most of that access was concentrated in the more densely populated southeast corner of the state.

Regional and remote communities—often with older populations and fewer dental services—were increasingly left without this form of preventive care.

Why Seniors Feel It Most

For older Australians, the removal of fluoride from drinking water was more than a local government policy change—it represented a health setback.

Ageing teeth were already more prone to decay due to gum recession, reduced saliva flow, and the side effects of medications commonly prescribed for heart disease, depression, or high blood pressure.

Dry mouth in particular increased vulnerability to cavities, while the cost of private dental treatment placed significant strain on those living on fixed or modest incomes.

Dr Nick Yim from the Australian Medical Association Queensland warned that the decision by councils like Cairns to abandon fluoridation ‘goes against decades of scientific evidence and abandons vulnerable people who cannot afford dental care or healthy food.’

The statistic that one in ten Queenslanders did not have enough functional teeth to chew food underscored the scale of the problem.

As health professionals noted, this was not just an issue of comfort but one of nutrition, wellbeing, and dignity.

The Financial Reality

Economic evaluations repeatedly found that water fluoridation was one of the most cost-effective public health measures.

Australian studies estimated that for every dollar invested, between seven and eighteen dollars in dental treatment costs were saved.

Gympie council’s own reports acknowledged that decommissioning would save the council $250,000 annually, with an additional $100,000 required for the transition.

However, those savings did not reflect the real costs borne by residents, who would face higher dental bills, increased health insurance premiums, and potential treatment through the already strained public hospital system.

The National Health and Medical Research Council highlighted this imbalance, noting that while councils avoided treatment costs, residents and the health system shouldered them instead.

The Persistence of Misinformation

Opposition to fluoridation has long been coloured by conspiracy theories, tracing back to the 1950s in North America where anti-communist and anti-Semitic sentiment fed suspicion of the practice.

A 2017 CSIRO study of regional New South Wales found that opponents often cited claims with ‘minimal scientific support and poor methodology,’ including links between fluoridation and thyroid disorders, pineal gland damage, or cancer.

Gympie mayor Glen Hartwig told the ABC the council was not ‘pandering to the conspiracy theorists,’ but critics argued that the overwhelming scientific consensus had been overlooked.

Steps Residents Can Take

For communities losing access to fluoridated water, experts stressed that individuals were not entirely powerless.

Daily protective measures included using fluoride toothpaste twice a day, considering fluoride mouth rinses, drinking adequate water to counter medication-induced dry mouth, and chewing sugar-free gum to stimulate saliva.

Professional dental care also played a key role, with dentists able to provide fluoride treatments, prescribe higher-strength fluoride products, and identify early signs of decay.

Dietary strategies offered further support, with naturally fluoridated foods like tea and certain fish providing some benefit, though far less than treated water.

Ultimately, experts recommended that residents speak with their dentist rather than attempting to avoid fluoride altogether.

A Policy Problem at Heart

The roots of the current divide lay in the 2012 policy change that devolved responsibility for fluoridation to councils.

This left smaller or financially stretched councils in a bind—bearing the costs while the broader Queensland health system reaped the savings through reduced dental treatment demand.

University of Queensland researchers described this as a clear example of policy creating perverse incentives that worked against public health.

Poor access to dental services in regional areas already placed additional strain on general practitioners, who were often left to manage avoidable pain and infections.

Long-Term Impact

Research consistently demonstrated the benefits of fluoridation—reducing tooth decay by between 26 and 44 per cent in children and adolescents, and by 27 per cent in adults.

This evidence was not limited to children’s oral health but extended across the lifespan, making it particularly relevant to seniors.

The Australian Medical Association Queensland and the Australian Dental Association had repeatedly written to councils, warning of the long-term effects of rising oral disease prevalence and severity.

Their joint message was unequivocal: removing fluoride harmed the most vulnerable members of the community.

Looking Forward

While Gympie prepared to decommission its system by June 2025, residents were given 30 days’ notice to adjust their oral health routines.

Some councils had previously reversed decisions, suggesting that change remained possible if community support and political will aligned.

For now, however, seniors and families in non-fluoridated regions would be left to bridge the gap through personal care and private costs.

The science had not shifted—fluoride remained one of the safest and most effective public health measures available.

The question was whether politics would continue to get in the way of protecting Queenslanders’ teeth.

Concerns about fluoride in drinking water are part of a broader conversation about the safety and quality of what flows from the tap.

Recent reports have highlighted that even when water is technically safe, its taste, smell, or appearance can still leave communities questioning its reliability.

One story in particular shed light on this issue, showing how widespread frustration can grow when water no longer feels drinkable at home.

Read more: 'Undrinkable' tap water leaves millions of Aussies frustrated–here's what’s really going on'

Have you been affected by your council’s fluoridation decision, and what steps are you taking to protect your dental health without access to fluoridated water?