UK - Is it right to put flouride in the water system to improve the nation's teeth?

Published Date: 12 February 2008
Is it right to put flouride in the water system to improve the nation's teeth?
Health secretary Alan Johnson has called for flouride to be added to our water supplies in a bid to tackle tooth decay in poorer communities.
The idea is not new, having been around in America since the 1940s. Pilot schemes were launched in parts of England in the 1950s and many local health authorities have been doing it for many years.
Flouride is good for teeth and it is believed many poorer families do not have good access to dental care, particularly now NHS care is hard to find, so adding it to the water will lead to healthier smiles.
But some people feel it iswrong to enforce flouridation on the general public without allowing people a choice.
Links have been made between flouridation and cancer, infertility and Downs Syndrome, but there is not enough evidence to seriously back this up.
Dr Robert Wilson, consultant in public health medicine for Lincolnshire Teaching Primary Care Trust, said: "Approximately half of Lincolnshire has fluoride added to the wate, since about 1980. "Gainsborough, Lincoln, Grantham, Sleaford and surrounding areas are affected, and the latest survey of tooth decay in the county showed much lower rates in the fluoridated areas.
"It is important to maintain and if possible increase coverage of fluoridation in the county to improve dental health."
Do you think it is fair to enforce flouridation of the water supply so people have no choice in the matter? Email the editor rebekah.baker@jpress.co.uk