Congratulations to Salima Thawer and Dr. Steve Patterson

Congratulations to Salima Thawer and Dr. Steve Patterson on being successful co-applicants on a CIHR Project Grant, approved in January 2018!

Along with principal investigator Lindsay McLaren, associate professor in the Department of Community Health Sciences at the University of Calgary, as well as a number of co-applicants from University of Calgary and Alberta Health Services, dental hygiene assistant clinical professor Salima Thawer and professor Steve Patterson from the School of Dentistry, will be looking at the effects of community water fluoridation cessation in Alberta, comparing populations in Calgary and Edmonton.

The research project, "Community water fluoridation and oral health: Filling knowledge gaps and strengthening surveillance using opportunities in Alberta, Canada", involves two phases. Phase 1 will examine the oral health of school children enrolled in Grade 2 during the 2018/2019 school year in the two cities. Calgary ceased the practice of community water fluoridation in May 2011, whereas Edmonton has remained fluoridated since the 1960s. Phase 2 will expand the work to consider the impact of fluoridation cessation on elderly populations in long-term care.

"The major part of our study is to look at the impact that removing fluoride from Calgary's water supply may have had on oral health, as compared to Edmonton," says Thawer. "This project is so important to informing the literature as well as the discussions around community water fluoridation that are taking place in various jurisdictions. This research is crucial right now because we have debates on both sides of the issue. It has real-life impact."

By comparing the oral health data that will be collected in both cities, and also comparing to the 2013/14 iteration of the school children phase of the study, this upcoming study will help gather evidence around the impact that water fluoridation cessation has on caries experience, in a contemporary context.

"It's exciting to be a part of this kind of study," says Patterson. "The CIHR has funded a major project that will now allow for new knowledge and expertise in this area."