UK - Water could help stop tooth decay

DRINK UP – Kettering dentist Vikki Wynne supports proposals to put fluoride in tap water to protect teeth against decayET picture by Alison Bagley: 040608-20-09
Residents could be asked if they want fluoride in the water as part of a drive to improve dental health.
The plans have been unveiled as part of a ten-year plan to improve health across the East Midlands.
Increasing the number of people who visit dentists and holding a consultation about fluoridation are part of the NHS East Midlands ten-year vision document which was launched today.
The aim of the document is to work towards providing world-class healthcare for the region for the next ten years.
Kettering dentist Alisdair McKendrick said: "A decision to put fluoride in the water would be the most important thing the trust could do to improve the oral health of the under-privileged across Northamptonshire.
"Fluoride helps to strengthen enamel of teeth and can help strengthen teeth by 50 per cent.
"It is traditionally the less privileged who have worse diets and poorer oral health and putting fluoride in the water would help to make a huge difference to oral care."
Other recommendations will include improving access to NHS dentists, reducing waiting times and educatiing people about the benefits of visiting dentists.
The drive to improve dental health comes on the back of figures which show Northamptonshire has the second lowest number of dentists per 100,000 people in the East Midlands.
The county only has 39 per 100,000 – compared to Nottingham which has 70 per 100,000. The UK average is 42 per 100,000.
More than 46 per cent of people in Northamptonshire have not visited a dentist in two years.
Anglian Water said if it was asked to put fluoride in the water by the trust it would be obliged to do so. It already puts it into water supplied to areas of Bedfordshire and Lincolnshire.

Anne Underwood, of Edinburgh Road, Wellingborough, said: "I don't really know enough about it and would want to be better informed about the risks and benefits before making a decision."