A study led by Manchester University and Salford Royal Hospital has found that adding fluoride to water isn’t as beneficial for children’s dental health as was once thought.
According to The Telegraph:
The Government has drawn up plans to roll out the fluoridation of drinking water in England to cut tooth decay, subject to a public consultation.
However, researchers have found that the benefits of fluoride in water have declined from studies half a century ago, when fluoride toothpaste was less widely available in the UK.
The Catfish study, funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research and led by the University of Manchester and Salford Royal NHS Foundation Trust, followed nearly 3,000 children in Cumbria over a six-year period.
The children were divided into two cohorts across two locations – one in West Cumbria, where water fluoridation was reintroduced in 2013, and the other in the rest of Cumbria, where water does not contain fluoride.
In West Cumbria, the younger cohort were born after water fluoridation was introduced, which meant they had the full effect of the measure.
The older cohort was aged around five when fluoride was reintroduced into the water supply, which meant they mainly received the benefit for those teeth already in the mouth.
The results showed that, in the younger cohort, 17.4 per cent of the children in fluoridated areas had decayed, filled or missing milk teeth, compared with 21.4 per cent for children in the same age group in non-fluoridated areas.
Meanwhile, in the older cohort, 19.1 per cent of the children in fluoridated areas had decayed, filled or missing permanent teeth, compared with 21.9 per cent for children in non-fluoridated areas.
Despite their findings, published in the journal Public Health Research, the scientists said fluoridation should be considered alongside other measures to protect children’s dental health – particularly those from disadvantaged groups who are more likely to experience tooth decay.
Dr Michaela Goodwin, from the University of Manchester and senior investigator on the project, said: “While water fluoridation is likely to be cost-effective and has demonstrated an improvement in oral health, it should be carefully considered along with other options, particularly as the disease becomes concentrated in particular groups.
“Tooth decay is a non-trivial disease, which is why measures to tackle it are so important.
The Health and Care Act, which received Royal Assent in April, gave the Health Secretary new powers to order fluoridation across the country following a public consultation.
Previously, responsibility for fluoridation was held by local authorities.
Initiatives to add fluoride to local water supplies have been met with opposition.
Southampton City Council voted against fluoridation in 2011 after hundreds of people signed a petition claiming that it was “unethical because it constitutes mass medication without consent”.
Professor Chris Whitty, the Chief Medical Officer for England, and his counterparts across the UK have said that arguments against fluoridation have been “exaggerated and unevidenced”.
