CALGARY—Alberta Party Leader Stephen Mandel waded into a long-running public health debate in Calgary on Friday by promising to push for water fluoridation if he becomes premier.

Mandel said if his party forms government in the spring election, it would work with municipalities that have a population above 10,000 people to help them find ways to make fluoride work. Mandel said he supports this practice as an effective preventative tool to improve oral health.

Mandel suggested this could be accomplished by providing more research on fluoridation or speaking with communities directly to educate Albertans on the health benefits. He also said his government could potentially help cities seek funding through Alberta Capital Finance to afford the cost of water fluoridation.

“We’re not here to dictate to municipalities, we’re here to encourage them. And if they so desire, we’d be glad to work with them in any way that we can,” Mandel said.

Fluoride is a naturally occurring mineral that’s released into soil, water and air, but it’s routinely added to water supplies in many countries because of its ability to prevent tooth decay and cavities.

Water fluoridation has been a source of debate in Calgary for more than 60 years, and has been the topic of several public votes. After it was approved in two separate referendums in 1989 and 1998, Calgary city council voted to end the practice in 2011.

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Mandel, formerly the mayor of Edmonton, said he doesn’t want the provincial government to interfere with municipalities and force them into fluoridation, but he said he thinks past research clearly supports its health benefits.

“I come from a city, Edmonton, that has (fluoride), and our level of cavities and dental problems are not as great as in other cities around the province,” Mandel said.

Fluoride naturally occurs in Calgary’s water at levels that vary between 0.1 mg/L and 0.4 mg/L, but Health Canada considers 0.7 mg/L to be the optimal level to support dental health. The City of Edmonton fluoridates its own water supply to reach Health Canada’s recommended level.

Some critics question fluoride’s health benefits or believe the public should have an individual choice about whether to add it to their drinking water. But research has shown tooth decay worsens in communities without additional fluoride. A 2016 University of Calgary study found a greater increase in primary tooth decay in Calgary compared to Edmonton since fluoridation stopped.

Calgary city council voted earlier this year to revisit fluoridation research and ask the University of Calgary’s O’Brien Institute for Public Health to deliver an independent review on the topic. A council committee will see the U of C’s report no later than June.

Ward 3 Councillor Jyoti Gondek said she looks forward to discussing the U of C’s report, but she said she hopes the Alberta Party would be willing to help fund fluoridation if they’re in favour of it.

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“It’s very interesting coming from someone who was formerly a mayor of a municipality that probably understands that health care, which includes oral health, is a responsibility of the province,” Gondek said.

Mandel also announced on Friday that if his party forms government it would expand the Alberta Health Care Insurance Plan to cover children up to 12 years old for annual dental checkups and two X-rays at age 10.

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