Health Minister Stephen Robertson has hit back at claims that fluoridation of the state’s water supplies could cause health problems in infants.

He says an Australian Institute of Health and Welfare report, which has found that Queensland children have worse teeth than children in Uganda, justifies the Government’s recent decision to fluoridate water across the state.

Mr Robertson says recent Australian studies show no significant link between the use of infant formulas made with fluoridated water and dental fluorosis.

“Fluoridated water can be safely used to reconstitute infant formula and the risk of what they call dental fluorosis, which is just a staining or mottling of teeth, is still low,” he said.

“There’s a lot of unsubstantiated, very poor science that goes into the anti-fluoride debate.”

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