UK- Health bosses want fluoride gaps filled
Oct 23 2006
By Liz Hands, The Journal
The debate over using fluoride to protect children's teeth was reopened yesterday as North-East health bosses called for the chemical to be added to water supplies across the region. Water in Newcastle, Gateshead, North Tyneside, parts of Northumberland and Hartlepool is already fluoridated.
Public health chiefs say the better dental health of children in those areas is evidence to back their calls for the chemical to be introduced in Sunderland, South Tyneside, County Durham and Teesside.
The recommendations - which met with opposition by campaigners - come in a report by the North-East Public Health Observatory (NEPHO).
The report is based on the results of a dental health survey of more than 13,200 five-year-olds from 545 schools across the region. Around 40% of children in the North-East have dental decay, compared with around 30% in the South-East. Professor John Wilkinson, director of NEPHO, said: "Dental health is better now than at any time in the last 50 years, with 60% of five-year-olds nationally having no experience of tooth decay. However, not all children have good dental health.
"In the North-East, children living in the fluoridated water areas compare favourably with the national average for dental decay, although they still fall below many other parts of the country. "Of even greater concern," he added, "is the fact that unfluoridated County Durham and the Tees Valley is ranked among the worst five areas in England with a high proportion of five-year-olds having decayed teeth that go untreated." NEPHO wants the North-East Strategic Health Authority (SHA) to draft a timetable for consultation in advance of asking water companies to add fluoride to supplies.
He said children in County Durham and Tees Valley were in the bottom five SHA areas for dental decay, whereas those in Northumberland and Tyne and Wear compare favourably with the national average. The report says: "Two thirds of the regional population do not have access to fluoridated water. The Strategic Health Authority has a responsibility to work with local authorities and water companies to initiate the required processes. "Children in Primary Care Trusts with fluoridated drinking water are less likely to experience tooth decay." A spokesman for Northumbrian Water said any decision would be up to the North-East Strategic Health Authority after an extensive public consultation.
But John Graham, executive member for the National Pure Water Association, said he believed adding fluoride to water supplies could be illegal.
"The addition of fluoride to customers' water supplies is presented as a means of preventing tooth decay, which by definition makes the fluoridating chemical a medicine," he said. "Fluorosilicic acid does not have a medicinal licence."
Brushing teeth is the key, say nursery schools. Two nursery schools - one in an area with fluoridated water supplies, and one in an area without - said teaching children to brush their teeth properly was the most important step in the fight against tooth decay. Bridges Nursery in Gateshead town centre and Buttons Nursery in Washington, an area without fluoride in the water, both encourage their children to brush their teeth after meals.
Louise Firth, deputy nursery manager at Bridges, said: "We get our children to go to the sink and brush their teeth after lunch. We also promote healthy eating and they don't get sugary snacks. "For birthdays, we ask parents to try to think of something else to bring in rather than sugary birthday cakes, such as goody bags with toys in." Emma Forrest, deputy manager at Buttons, said: "I wasn't really aware that we didn't have fluoride in this area, but our children do have very good dental health anyway. "After tea, they go to get their own toothbrush and toothpaste and brush their teeth, sometimes to music like a song from Barney the dinosaur. "We don't let them have too much sugar. They have jelly or fruit for snacks and juice or water rather than fizzy drinks. It's all about getting them into good habits."
By Liz Hands, The Journal
The debate over using fluoride to protect children's teeth was reopened yesterday as North-East health bosses called for the chemical to be added to water supplies across the region. Water in Newcastle, Gateshead, North Tyneside, parts of Northumberland and Hartlepool is already fluoridated.
Public health chiefs say the better dental health of children in those areas is evidence to back their calls for the chemical to be introduced in Sunderland, South Tyneside, County Durham and Teesside.
The recommendations - which met with opposition by campaigners - come in a report by the North-East Public Health Observatory (NEPHO).
The report is based on the results of a dental health survey of more than 13,200 five-year-olds from 545 schools across the region. Around 40% of children in the North-East have dental decay, compared with around 30% in the South-East. Professor John Wilkinson, director of NEPHO, said: "Dental health is better now than at any time in the last 50 years, with 60% of five-year-olds nationally having no experience of tooth decay. However, not all children have good dental health.
"In the North-East, children living in the fluoridated water areas compare favourably with the national average for dental decay, although they still fall below many other parts of the country. "Of even greater concern," he added, "is the fact that unfluoridated County Durham and the Tees Valley is ranked among the worst five areas in England with a high proportion of five-year-olds having decayed teeth that go untreated." NEPHO wants the North-East Strategic Health Authority (SHA) to draft a timetable for consultation in advance of asking water companies to add fluoride to supplies.
He said children in County Durham and Tees Valley were in the bottom five SHA areas for dental decay, whereas those in Northumberland and Tyne and Wear compare favourably with the national average. The report says: "Two thirds of the regional population do not have access to fluoridated water. The Strategic Health Authority has a responsibility to work with local authorities and water companies to initiate the required processes. "Children in Primary Care Trusts with fluoridated drinking water are less likely to experience tooth decay." A spokesman for Northumbrian Water said any decision would be up to the North-East Strategic Health Authority after an extensive public consultation.
But John Graham, executive member for the National Pure Water Association, said he believed adding fluoride to water supplies could be illegal.
"The addition of fluoride to customers' water supplies is presented as a means of preventing tooth decay, which by definition makes the fluoridating chemical a medicine," he said. "Fluorosilicic acid does not have a medicinal licence."
Brushing teeth is the key, say nursery schools. Two nursery schools - one in an area with fluoridated water supplies, and one in an area without - said teaching children to brush their teeth properly was the most important step in the fight against tooth decay. Bridges Nursery in Gateshead town centre and Buttons Nursery in Washington, an area without fluoride in the water, both encourage their children to brush their teeth after meals.
Louise Firth, deputy nursery manager at Bridges, said: "We get our children to go to the sink and brush their teeth after lunch. We also promote healthy eating and they don't get sugary snacks. "For birthdays, we ask parents to try to think of something else to bring in rather than sugary birthday cakes, such as goody bags with toys in." Emma Forrest, deputy manager at Buttons, said: "I wasn't really aware that we didn't have fluoride in this area, but our children do have very good dental health anyway. "After tea, they go to get their own toothbrush and toothpaste and brush their teeth, sometimes to music like a song from Barney the dinosaur. "We don't let them have too much sugar. They have jelly or fruit for snacks and juice or water rather than fizzy drinks. It's all about getting them into good habits."
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