Abstract:
This thesis examines a particular area in public and scientific policy: that of fluoridation of water supplies, with special reference to New Zealand. It does so through an historical study, using some original data and sources, of the relationship between fluoridation and various aspects of education in New Zealand over the last forty years. The perspectives employed in its historical approach are those of the "new sociology" of Thomas Kuhn, Michael Young and others. Two basic themes are developed, after recounting the general global context of the "fluoridation paradigm". The first is an investigation of the question whether education or fluoridation has been chiefly responsible for the improvement in dental health that has occurred in New Zealand, as in most developed countries. The second is an examination of the processes involved in "education for fluoridation", including professional as well as public education, and highlighting the key role played by the Hastings demonstration and the Commission of Inquiry in the 1950s. It is concluded that education has played a greater role than is generally recognized in improving dental health It is also concluded that the educational processes used in the promotion of fluoridation in New Zealand have been elitist and rigid, resulting in presentation of a one-sided, arguably distorted, view of risks and benefits.