New Zealand dentists' views on community water fluoridation.

OBJECTIVE To determine whether New Zealand general dental practitioners support community water fluoridation (CWF), and to gauge their opinions on its possible systemic side-effects. METHODS An online survey was conducted in 2010, involving the 1174 general dental practitioners who had email addresses on the Dental Register and were contactable in New Zealand. A total of 465 dentists (39.6%) participated. RESULTS Most practitioners (93.5%) reported supporting community water fluoridation; the other 6.5% either were unsure or did not support it. Higher proportions of more recent graduates supported CWF. Some 85.6% of practitioners thought that drinking fluoridated water was a harmless way to prevent dental caries, but 6.2% felt that fluoridated water may cause other health problems. There were no systematic differences by sociodemographic and practice characteristics, except that a higher proportion of males and more experienced practitioners reported being confident in discussing CWF-related issues. CONCLUSIONS Most New Zealand dental practitioners support community water fluoridation, although a very small proportion believe that it is harmful and/or does not prevent caries.