UK - House of Lords
Fluoridation
Question
Asked by Earl Baldwin of Bewdley
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Earl Howe on 23 May (WA 379), whether in view of the many uncertainties about the evidence expressed in the York review a more accurate summation of what it reported would be the statement from the executive summary that "the best available evidence suggests", rather than "it found", that fluoridation protected children's teeth.[HL10345]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Health (Earl Howe): The conclusions section of the York review includes the statement:
"The best available evidence (level B) from studies on the initiation and discontinuation of water fluoridation suggests that fluoridation does reduce caries prevalence, both as measured by the proportion of children who are caries-free and by the mean dmft/DMFT score".
We continue to seek to ensure that we reflect the findings of the review in an accurate and meaningful manner.
Asked by Earl Baldwin of Bewdley
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Earl Howe on 6 June (WA 40-1), whether a period of 11 years between the institution of a legal requirement to monitor the effects of water fluoridation schemes in the United Kingdom and the publication of the first reports on existing schemes represents a satisfactory response to potential health concerns.[HL10346]
Earl Howe: As my previous reply indicated, we will meet the statutory requirements to monitor the effects of water fluoridation schemes. The monitoring will complement that already undertaken by the public health observatories which we are confident would have already identified any major differences in morbidity or mortality between the health of the populations of fluoridated and non-fluoridated areas.
Asked by Earl Baldwin of Bewdley
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answers by Lord Darzi of Denham on 30 January 2008 (WA 124) and Earl Howe on
30 Jun 2011 : Column WA465
24 May 2011 (WA 409-10), why they cannot make progress by examining the risks, benefits and costs of existing fluoridation schemes as referred to by Lord Darzi of Denham.[HL10347]
Earl Howe: The research on dental fluorosis, which is the only proven side effect of fluoridation, is being conducted on a sample population of Newcastle where there is an existing fluoridation scheme. The benefits of fluoridation are illustrated by epidemiological surveys which show that levels of dental decay in fluoridated areas like the West Midlands are lower than those in areas like Greater Manchester where no adjustment is made to the level of fluoridation in the water supply. A new scheme would provide baseline information on oral health and cost of implementation which are not available from existing schemes.
Asked by Earl Baldwin of Bewdley
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Earl Howe on 6 June (WA 41), (a) whether the British Dental Association remains a signatory to the campaign by the National Alliance for Equity in Dental Health to promote water fluoridation; and if so (b) whether a school of dentistry is well placed to conduct an impartial study into the prevalence and severity of any adverse effects of fluoridation.[HL10348]
Earl Howe: The British Dental Association is an independent organisation and we have no recent information about its association with the campaign. Only dental care professionals have the expertise to identify dental fluorosis but the interpretive element of the research is based on a sample of lay people giving their views on the aesthetic impact of fluorosis. We are satisfied that these findings are being objectively recorded.
Asked by Earl Baldwin of Bewdley
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answers by Baroness Thornton on 18 January 2010 (WA 102) and 23 February 2010 (WA 282-3), whether the findings by Professor Chester Douglass, which he claimed would not support an association between osteosarcoma and water fluoridation and were intended for publication in summer 2006, have yet been published.[HL10350]
Earl Howe: Nothing has yet been published, but we understand that Professor Douglass will shortly be publishing a paper on his findings in the Journal of Dental Research.
Asked by Earl Baldwin of Bewdley
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answers by Earl Howe on 26 April (WA 47-8) and 23 May (WA 378), whether the figure of 3 per cent for fluorosis of aesthetic concern given by the National Fluoride Information Centre on its website took account of the 95 per cent
30 Jun 2011 : Column WA466
confidence intervals around the prevalence figure of 12.5 per cent in table 7.7 of the York report, which gave a spread of 7 per cent-21.5 per cent. [HL10382]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Health (Earl Howe): We do not have information of this detail since the National Fluoride Information Centre was independent of the department. The research project which we have funded the School of Dentistry at the University of Manchester to undertake on the prevalence and severity of dental fluorosis will provide new information.
Question
Asked by Earl Baldwin of Bewdley
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Earl Howe on 23 May (WA 379), whether in view of the many uncertainties about the evidence expressed in the York review a more accurate summation of what it reported would be the statement from the executive summary that "the best available evidence suggests", rather than "it found", that fluoridation protected children's teeth.[HL10345]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Health (Earl Howe): The conclusions section of the York review includes the statement:
"The best available evidence (level B) from studies on the initiation and discontinuation of water fluoridation suggests that fluoridation does reduce caries prevalence, both as measured by the proportion of children who are caries-free and by the mean dmft/DMFT score".
We continue to seek to ensure that we reflect the findings of the review in an accurate and meaningful manner.
Asked by Earl Baldwin of Bewdley
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Earl Howe on 6 June (WA 40-1), whether a period of 11 years between the institution of a legal requirement to monitor the effects of water fluoridation schemes in the United Kingdom and the publication of the first reports on existing schemes represents a satisfactory response to potential health concerns.[HL10346]
Earl Howe: As my previous reply indicated, we will meet the statutory requirements to monitor the effects of water fluoridation schemes. The monitoring will complement that already undertaken by the public health observatories which we are confident would have already identified any major differences in morbidity or mortality between the health of the populations of fluoridated and non-fluoridated areas.
Asked by Earl Baldwin of Bewdley
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answers by Lord Darzi of Denham on 30 January 2008 (WA 124) and Earl Howe on
30 Jun 2011 : Column WA465
24 May 2011 (WA 409-10), why they cannot make progress by examining the risks, benefits and costs of existing fluoridation schemes as referred to by Lord Darzi of Denham.[HL10347]
Earl Howe: The research on dental fluorosis, which is the only proven side effect of fluoridation, is being conducted on a sample population of Newcastle where there is an existing fluoridation scheme. The benefits of fluoridation are illustrated by epidemiological surveys which show that levels of dental decay in fluoridated areas like the West Midlands are lower than those in areas like Greater Manchester where no adjustment is made to the level of fluoridation in the water supply. A new scheme would provide baseline information on oral health and cost of implementation which are not available from existing schemes.
Asked by Earl Baldwin of Bewdley
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Earl Howe on 6 June (WA 41), (a) whether the British Dental Association remains a signatory to the campaign by the National Alliance for Equity in Dental Health to promote water fluoridation; and if so (b) whether a school of dentistry is well placed to conduct an impartial study into the prevalence and severity of any adverse effects of fluoridation.[HL10348]
Earl Howe: The British Dental Association is an independent organisation and we have no recent information about its association with the campaign. Only dental care professionals have the expertise to identify dental fluorosis but the interpretive element of the research is based on a sample of lay people giving their views on the aesthetic impact of fluorosis. We are satisfied that these findings are being objectively recorded.
Asked by Earl Baldwin of Bewdley
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answers by Baroness Thornton on 18 January 2010 (WA 102) and 23 February 2010 (WA 282-3), whether the findings by Professor Chester Douglass, which he claimed would not support an association between osteosarcoma and water fluoridation and were intended for publication in summer 2006, have yet been published.[HL10350]
Earl Howe: Nothing has yet been published, but we understand that Professor Douglass will shortly be publishing a paper on his findings in the Journal of Dental Research.
Asked by Earl Baldwin of Bewdley
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answers by Earl Howe on 26 April (WA 47-8) and 23 May (WA 378), whether the figure of 3 per cent for fluorosis of aesthetic concern given by the National Fluoride Information Centre on its website took account of the 95 per cent
30 Jun 2011 : Column WA466
confidence intervals around the prevalence figure of 12.5 per cent in table 7.7 of the York report, which gave a spread of 7 per cent-21.5 per cent. [HL10382]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Health (Earl Howe): We do not have information of this detail since the National Fluoride Information Centre was independent of the department. The research project which we have funded the School of Dentistry at the University of Manchester to undertake on the prevalence and severity of dental fluorosis will provide new information.
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