Calgary fluoride reintroduction delayed to 2025

The City of Calgary will delay reintroducing fluoride to its drinking water supply until the first quarter of 2025.

Fluoride is not expected to be back in the city's water until September, but the city said Friday that construction of necessary infrastructure upgrades at the Glenmore and Birspaugh water treatment plants is now expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2025.

In November 2021, City Council approved reintroducing fluoride to Calgary's drinking water after a plebiscite with 62 percent in favor of adding the mineral to drinking water.

That vote overturned a 2011 city council decision to remove the mineral from municipal drinking water.

However, as planned, this is the second delay from the city Reintroduced in 2023 but faced hurdles in the cost of factories.

This is also happening recently study study A University of Alberta study published in the Canadian Journal of Public Health shows that stopping water fluoridation had a negative impact on young children's dental health.

The population-based study included all non-fluoridated and fluoridated children under 12 years of age living in Calgary and Edmonton, respectively.

Of the 2,600 children who underwent dental treatment for cavities requiring general anesthesia, 65 percent came from Calgary.

It noted a significant increase in dental treatments for cavities requiring general anesthesia per 10,000 children aged 0-5 and 6-11 years.

“The risk of dental treatment under (general anesthesia) was also positively associated with time after discontinuation,” the paper states.

The paper concludes that ending water fluoridation would “adversely affect the oral health of young children” and could lead to a “significant increase” in dental cavity-related treatment in this population.

Calgary joins Edmonton, Lethbridge and Red Deer as Alberta municipalities that contain fluoride in their drinking water.