About 80 people, including the Mayor of Riverview and Dieppe, sat in Moncton council chambers for three hours Monday night, listening to presentations for and against the addition of fluoride to the city’s municipal water.

Against fluoridation was a group represented by a dentist, a pharmacist, a community member, and Olivier Clarisse, a professor at the University of Moncton who studies the effects of metal contaminants in the environment.

Clarisse suggested council continue its moratorium on adding hexafluorosilicic acid to the water supply for a few more years until more research is done.

“I’m not completely against it, but I’m not for it, too, because there’s a lot of scientific debate,” he said.

Presenting on the safety and benefits of fluoride was Dr. Yves Leger, regional medical officer of health and president of the Moncton Dental Society, and Dr. Suzanne Drapeau McNally, vice president of the New Brunswick Dental Society.

Drapeau McNally said she’s seen an increase in tooth decay in the five years since fluoride was removed from the water.

“In the name of the most vulnerable please return to fluoridated water,” she said.

Isabelle LeBlanc with the city of Moncton said putting fluoride back in the municipal water system will cost the city $60,000 a year, plus a one-time fee of $20,000 to update the facility.

But the cost wasn’t discussed at the meeting.

Council remains divided on issue

Mayor Dawn Arnold said for her it’s about deciding between two factors.

“The long term effects of dental decay, the public health impact for all ages, versus the possible long term chronic effects,” she said.

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