Health

HSE spends €500,000 on water fluoride system upgrade

Executive says overhaul is necessary to ensure the accuracy and consistency of the treatment of drinking water with fluoride to help prevent tooth decay

Most of the country’s largest water treatment plants put fluoride into the drinking water, but this is not always the case in smaller water treatment plants or group water schemes. Picture: Getty

The HSE is spending €500,000 on upgrading the system that puts fluoride in the country’s drinking water to prevent tooth decay.

The money is being supplied this year to Irish Water to upgrade the fluoridation systems in the country’s major water treatment plants.

The dosing of drinking water with small levels of fluoride was introduced to reduce tooth decay, among children in particular. However, children can be left with discolouration on their teeth – a ...