The Department of Human Services is holding information sessions next week on the introduction of fluoride to East Gippsland’s water supplies.

The news has already prompted an angry response from the anti-fluoridation lobby.

The state’s chief health officer, Dr John Carnie, says the move will improve people’s dental health.

East Gippsland Water’s general manager, Les Mathieson, says the board is supporting the program.

“The [Health] Department in Victoria and successive Victorian governments are convinced that the health benefits of fluoridation are there,” he said.

“It’s been rolled out for the past 20 years – Melbourne Water and the people in Melbourne have had fluoridation for something like 30 or 40 years.”

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