NHS to add fluoride to UK’s drinking water

In a bid to reduce tooth decay in the UK’s most deprived areas, the British Government is encouraging the NHS to consider fluoridating tap water.

Alan Johnson, Health Secretary, has announced that yearly funding of £14 million will be given to Strategic Health Authorities (SHAs) over the next three years. The funds will be used to introduce fluoridation schemes, but only with local community consultation.

Currently only a very small number of SHAs add fluoride to water. The scheme in Birmingham has reduced tooth decay for the city’s children to half the levels of non-fluoridated Manchester.

On announcing the scheme, Mr. Johnson said: “Fluoridation is scientifically supported, it is legal, and it is our policy, but only two or three areas currently have it and we need to go much further in areas where dental health needs to be improved.

“It is an effective and relatively easy way to help address health inequalities - giving children from poorer backgrounds a dental health boost that can last a lifetime.”

The consumption of too much fluoride can result in fluorosis, causing white flecks or brown stains on tooth enamel.

The British Dental Association, however, has welcomed the announcement, and has said that the levels of fluoride added to water wouldn’t be high enough to cause fluorosis.

A BDA spokesperson said: “Dentists say that the fluorosis is more likely to arise from using ‘adult’ toothpaste on children, children being allowed to swallow toothpaste, or too much paste being used. The dose of fluoride added to water is very low.”

The Chartered Institute of Water and Environmental Management is calling for more research into fluoridation before the scheme is released. Their executive director, Nick Reeves, said: “Fluoridation is a complex issue, bringing concerns about how the Government uses its power to impose mass medication on the public.”