After throwing around all the FUD (fear, uncertainty and doubt) there is no mention of the benefits such as my son who is 21 has never had a cavity.
And I had a terrible childhood with 6 monthly dental checks always reveling 2-6 cavities requiring drilling and filling. My dental problems effectively came to an end upon moving to an area in the US that had water fluoridation. continuing my 6 monthly dental checks I sometimes went years with no additional drilling and filling.

Yes, I had the above described level 1 florosis as did my son and many children in the area but there has never been any indications of any more advanced problems. The small white specs went away as I grew into adulthood.

In light of the general unwillingness of the Aus population to have dental health adhered to until a significant problem manifests I totally support water fluoridation to help our children here in Aus prevent cavities

I totally agree with Bruce. Both my daughters have had cavity free teeth while I was at the dentists every six months in my childhood getting fillings. Fluoridation has been one of the greatest benefits introduced by the public health authorities. One only has to travel to countries where fluoridation is not in place and look at the teeth of the people living there. One can only praise the dentists who unlike so many professionals argued the case for fluoridation which was against their self-interest. Compare the action of dentists acting in the public interest compared to that of teachers and real-estate agents over the past thirty years.

I'll third the motion.. 36 and had next to no dental problems compared to my parents with a mouth full of fillings...

Yes because anecdotal evidence is what we should all base rational decisions on... And while we're medicating the masses lets add some aspirin to the water just to stop a few heart attacks...

Over 1,860 professionals signed a statement urging the US Congress to stop water fluoridation and hold Congressional hearings, citing scientific evidence that fluoridation, long promoted to fight tooth decay, is ineffective and has serious health risks. See statement: http://www.fluorideaction.org/statement.august.2007.html

Since the first FAN August 2007 statement, the following has occurred:

-- The Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment, Canada’s leading voice on environmental health issues, released a statement opposing fluoridation.

-- The National Kidney Foundation dropped its fluoridation support replacing it with this caution: “Individuals with CKD [Chronic Kidney Disease] should be notified of the potential risk of fluoride exposure.” (1)

-- Researchers reporting in the Oct 6 2007 British Medical Journal indicate that fluoridation never was proven safe or effective and may be unethical. (2)

-- A qualitative review of studies found a consistent and strong association between the exposure to fluoride and low IQ, conclude Tang el al., in "Fluoride and Children’s Intelligence: A Meta-analysis” in Biological Trace Element Research (e-published 8/10/08)

-- Scientific American editors wrote in January 2008, "Some recent studies suggest that over-consumption of fluoride can raise the risks of disorders affecting teeth, bones, the brain and the thyroid gland"

-- Dr. A. K. Susheela, a leading fluoride expert, explains in a video why US physicians overlook fluoride as a possible cause of diseases commonly caused by fluoride. http://tinyurl.com/Susheela

-- An expert panel Health Canada commissioned to study the risks of fluoride exposure says the government should cut the recommended amount in drinking water, encourage the use of low-fluoride toothpaste by children and have makers of infant formula reduce levels in their products. The panel recommended reduced fluoride exposure because it was worried children might be getting too much of the chemical.

Signers to the FAN statement include:

-- Dr. Arvid Carlsson,winner of the 2000 Nobel Prize for Medicine

-- Vyvyan Howard, MD, PhD, President, International Society of Doctors for the Environment

Carlsson says, “Fluoridation is against all principles of modern pharmacology. It's really obsolete.”

http://www.FluorideAction.Net

While we're rolling out the anecdotal evidence, my children too (unlike their parents) have grown up without cavities. They were born and raised in Queensland, so managed this feat entirely without the assistance of a fluoridated water supply.

There are ways to apply fluoride directly to the teeth, without the need to be ingesting daily yet another chemical substance into our bodies, where its longterm effects are still not properly understood.

Adding fluoride to the water supply no doubt has an environmental impact as well.