Cabonne Council will begin investigating the possibility of fluoridating Molong’s water supply, as the Rural Dental Action Group (RDAG) continues to push for fluoride for dental benefits.

The RDAG said the move was vital to help prevent tooth decay in the local population, especially among younger children.

“The RDAG is concerned about the rate of tooth decay in rural communities without fluoridated water, particularly in young children,” RDAG co-founder Marj Bollinger said.

‘The benefits far outweigh any disadvantages.”

Fluoride prevents cavities from forming by promoting stronger tooth enamel and helping to rebuild it when it breaks down.

Cabonne Council this month agreed to begin looking at the process and asked the community to consider the issue as well.

“There are always two sides to the fluoride debate,” Cabonne Council engineering and technical services director Rob Staples said.

He said adding fluoride to the town's water supply would be done through a basic dosing apparatus.

The water would need to be tested daily and an alarm system would be installed to monitor the fluoride levels.

The cost of fluoridating the Molong water supply is not yet known to council, however, the installation cost would be covered by a NSW Department of Health grant.

Council would be responsible for ongoing costs associated with the purchase of chemicals, water sampling and testing.

In 2008 about 7 per cent of the state's population did not have access to fluoridated water supplies.

The state government estimated that only 3.6 per cent of the NSW population did not have access to fluoridated supplies last year.