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The rising number of local oral healthcare issues including cavities has prompted the Windsor-Essex Health Unit board to unanimously approve a four-point proposal that includes reintroducing fluoride into Windsor’s drinking water.

The city opted to remove fluoride from its drinking water in 2013 with the proviso of revisiting the issue after five years. The decision also impacted Tecumseh and LaSalle, which buy their water from the city.

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“There’s a pattern of worsening oral healthcare in this community form 2011 to 2016,” said Dr. Wajid Ahmed, the health unit’s acting medical officer of health.

“We hope the decision makers in the community, when they read this report, will respond carefully to the challenge facing us a community.”

According to the 2018 Oral Health Update, the rate of day surgeries by area residents was three times higher than the provincial rate.

“That’s not all down to just a single cause, such as not fluoridating the water,” Ahmed said.