UK - Big Issue - Fluoride: yes or no?

Fluoride: yes or no?
Fluoride could be added to northern water supplies if studies show that the benefits to dental health outweigh the risks. Health trusts in West Yorkshire are carrying out a feasibility study into the effects of fluoridating water, and NHS Manchester is also conducting "early, exploratory stage" research.
Last year Alan Johnson, then health secretary, urged all parts of the country to consider fluoridation of water, particularly in more deprived areas where dental care is poor. Up to 30,000 children a year are admitted to hospital for tooth decay and extraction in Britain, a figure which has risen sharply in the last decade. According to a 2005-06 survey, more than half of five year olds in Manchester had experienced tooth decay.
Fluoride, a naturally occurring mineral, has been added to water in 10 per cent of the UK's supply. It can improve dental health by 50 per cent but it has met with opposition since the first fluoridation attempts in the 1940s.
Most European countries do not add fluoride, due to objections about mass medication, and the potential problems associated with fluorosis (excess fluoride). Campaigners say the long-term risks of the chemical are unknown, that individuals have differing reactions to fluoride, and it is impossible to control exposure levels to it. They say it can be administered in other ways to those who need it, other than in the water supply.
Dina Baird leads a campaign with Friends of the Earth Manchester to fight against the introduction of fluoride in the city. She lived in Baltimore, US, for six months in a fluoridated area and experienced feelings of apathy and depression. Her two year old son showed autistic tendencies and had white flecks on his teeth – a sign of fluorosis. When she returned to Britain their symptoms disappeared. She is convinced they were related to reactions to fluoride.
"Why should I and my family have to take fluoride when I don't agree with it? It's a freedom of choice issue," she said. "If there are children with tooth decay, that's a diet issue. The answer is not to blanket treat everyone's water."
In the US, over 2,000 medical and science professionals this year signed a statement against the use of fluoride in water. Last month the European Court of Justice ruled that fluoridated water should be regulated as a medicine, which could have implications for authorities opting to add the chemical.
But health officials in the north are keeping their options open. A spokesman for NHS Manchester said NHS North West is researching the benefits of fluoridation. "This work is at a very early, exploratory stage and if any firm proposals are developed they will be subject to public consultation," he said. "This will be decided later this year."
SARAH ROE