If you live in Halifax, you might not be getting fluoride in your water.
Halifax Water revealed this week they have not put fluoride in at the Pockwock Lake location since May 2023 and at the Lake Major location since 2020.
But what does that mean for your teeth?
Dr. Claire Karst, the president of the Nova Scotia Dental Association, says fluoridated water is one of the greatest public health inventions of the last century.
It’s a mineral that helps people maintain strong teeth, but when growing children ingest it, the mineral significantly impacts the health of their developing teeth.
In Calgary, they stopped putting fluoride in the water in 2011. But by 2018, a study from the University of Alberta reported that children in Grade 2 had significantly more cavities than children of the same age in Edmonton, where fluoride was still in the water.
After eight years without fluoridated water, children in Calgary started having significantly more cavities than those in Edmonton, where the water had fluoride.
Karst said the association is made up of dentists who provide care to people across the province, and they’re very concerned about the dental health of all Nova Scotians.
And she said fluoridated water is important, and the association plans to defend it.
She said they’ve been working on advocating for fluoridated water in New Glasgow since the town council recently decided to stop adding it to the community water supply.
Halifax Water says they’re repairing the Pockwock station, but there is no timeline for the one in Lake Major.
