The City of Calgary has delayed reintroducing fluoride to its water supply after a new study shows poor dental outcomes for Calgary children.

There has been another delay in reintroducing fluoride to Calgary's drinking water.

Fluoride recovery is expected to be completed in September, but the city is now expected to complete necessary infrastructure upgrades at the Glenmore and Bearspaw water treatment plants by the first quarter of 2025.

In 2011, fluoride was removed from the city's drinking water, and city officials said the infrastructure was shut down and destroyed after the decision to end fluoridation was made.

In a statement to Global News on Friday, a city spokesperson said construction began in September 2023 and the city expected the system to be ready this fall.

“This date has been set with the understanding that timelines are subject to change due to uncertainty in the global supply chain.” the city said in a statement.

“As a result of this global uncertainty and competition for industry resources, we anticipate that the system will be operational in the first quarter of 2025. This day will also reflect the integrated schedule created in collaboration with our general contractor and the city administration,” the statement said.

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.

Dr. James Dickinson was part of the campaign to return fluoride to the city's drinking water by 2021.

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“Water suppliers have known since then that they have to do this. It's going to be another year and it's scary,” said Dickinson, a professor of family medicine and public health sciences at the University of Calgary.

“There's a whole group of kids who are growing up without fluoride, and it shows in their teeth,” Dickinson said.

Dickinson said this is a very diluted amount of fluoride that is added to drinking water.

“It's about caring for everyone in the community. It's all very well to say, “No, we can do it individually,” but it's much easier and much better to do it as a society, as a whole. It's a matter of taking care of each other,” Dickinson said.

“We have people who can't afford toothbrushes. It's a really easy thing to do,” Dickinson said. “Just a small amount of fluoride and it makes all the difference for a lot of people.”

Reintroducing fluoride to Calgary's drinking water is not only taking longer, but also more expensive than originally anticipated.

The cost of implementing the infrastructure for the two water treatment plants has increased to $28.1 million from the original estimate of $10.1 million.

A new study by dental researchers at the University of Alberta, published this week in the Canadian Journal of Public Health, shows that ending water fluoridation could have a negative impact on young children's oral health, which “may lead to a significant increase in dental caries.” treatment under general anesthesia.

The study found oral health disparities in pediatric populations studied in Calgary and Edmonton.

It studied dental caries associated with dental treatment under general anesthesia (GA) between 2010 and 2019 in fluoridated and non-fluoridated communities in Alberta.

The study included children living in Calgary (non-fluoridated) and Edmonton (fluoridated) who received caries-related dental treatment under GA at publicly funded facilities.

Results showed that 65% of 2,659 children treated for caries lived in a non-fluoridated area.

The analysis showed that discontinuing water fluoridation was significantly associated with increased caries-related GA events per 10,000 children in both age groups (0–5 and 6–11 years), with a more pronounced effect in 0–5. aged children in fluoride-free areas.

Dickinson said the study confirms what was already known.

“Dentists say that since the loss of fluoride, the number of young children with dental problems is increasing. It's on the rise in society as a whole, and this new paper talks about the worst end of the scale. The ones that were really bad needed general anesthesia for major dental work,” Dickinson said.

He said the study shows the rate of dental anesthesia has steadily increased in Calgary since the loss of fluoridation.

The rate of dental treatment under anesthesia for children under five doubled from 22 per 100,000 in 2010-11 to 45 per 100,000 in 2018-19.

In Edmonton, where water is fluoridated, rates have increased from 18 to 24.

Dickinson said even a single cavity in a child's permanent teeth can have lifelong effects.

“At some point in the process, you end up with a tooth that needs a crown or a root canal. It's very expensive, so having healthy teeth for kids makes a huge difference in lifetime and dental care costs,” Dickinson said.

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