Hamilton City Council is being accused of handing out misleading information about fluoride ahead of a referendum on whether it should be put back into the water supply.
Fluoride was taken out of the city's water in June this year, but a month later the council decided to hold a non-binding referendum in October on whether to reinstate it.
Jonathan Broadbent, a public health dentistry specialist from the University of Otago, said information in a recently released leaflet and on the council's website is so over-simplified that it doesn't reflect true and accepted public health advice.
"If you go to their site, read that material and believe what you read, you will be misled. (It's) far better to be directing people to health authorities' websites - people who actually know what they're talking about with regard to this public health issue."
Dr Broadbent said on Tuesday a recent study has shown that 94% of dentists in private practise support fluoridation.
He said people in Hamilton should ignore council information about fluoride.
