Water fluoridation cut tooth decay in Queensland children, study shows, but most councils have decided against it

New research has found that water fluoridation in Queensland reduced the rate of tooth decay in children to less than four out of every 10 children, down from nearly half of all children.

The findings come as more councils in Queensland vote to remove fluoride from their water supply . Of 77 local government areas in Queensland, only 16 add fluoride to water, most of them in south-east Queensland. Five more have naturally occurring fluoride. Two councils – Gympie and Cook – have voted to cease fluoridation in the last year.

The Child Oral Health Study collected data from 7,718 school students from across the state between 2021 and 2024 at randomly selected state, independent and Catholic schools.

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University of Queensland school of dentistry’s Prof