Science Media Centre

The New Zealand Dental Association (NZDA) has launched a new consensus statement on sugary drinks, calling for better information for the public about negative impacts of excess sugar. Launched today, the consensus statement highlights seven areas for action: An icon on drinks indicating the amount of sugar in teaspoons Independent monitoring of food marketing, with […]

Radio New Zealand asked three dental experts for their take on the newly released report by Roy Morgan Research, which suggests that tooth decay has significantly declined between 2009 and 2014. Aired as a slot in RNZ’s Morning Report this week, journalist Nick Butcher interviewed New Zealand Dental Association chief executive David Crum, University of Otago paediatric dentistry professor Bernadette Drummond […]

The fluoride debate is heating up again with a prominent anti-fluoridation activist touring the country and a Taranaki High Court decision imminent on the legality of fluoridation in the region. The SMC conducted the following Q&A with public health experts on fluoride. Additional comments will be posted on our website. Professor Barry Borman, Associate Director, […]

Fluoride will no longer be added to drinking supplies in New Zealand’s fourth-largest city, ending nearly five decades of established practice. Councillors voted this morning to stop adding fluoride to Hamilton’s drinking water, overturning the outcome of a 2006 referendum in support of continued fluoridation. The decision will create the second-largest population in the country […]

Lois Cairns writes in the Sunday Star Times about the damage being caused to children’s teeth by sugar-free, but highly acidic, foods. Doctors are warning that while sugar is still the most important factor in tooth decay, highly acidic sugar-free foods are capable of stripping tooth enamel – a process which can’t be reversed. An […]