Fluoride ‘safe and effective’, says study

A study has said fluoride can improve the dental health of children, just days after the Government launched a review into whether the chemical should be banned from Ireland’s water supply.

The conclusion has been drawn by Britain’s health advisory body, Public Health England, as part of the first ever national report on the issue in the NHS.

According to the detailed research, which can be read in full at www.irishexaminer.com, children living in areas where water fluoridation schemes are in place are far less likely to have tooth decay than those in other locations.

The report’s authors said this means there are “significant benefits” to adding fluoride to water — an issue which, despite over half a century of evidence to support it, has repeatedly sparked controversy over claims of connections to serious health problems.

The study said 14 out of England’s 152 local authorities add fluoride to public water, covering 6m people.

In these areas, five-year-olds with baby teeth are 15% less likely to have tooth decay than those living in locations where fluoride schemes are not in place, while 12-year-olds with adult teeth in fluoride areas are 11% less likely to have these problems.

When deprivation and ethnicity factors are taken into account, the research said the figures rise to 28% and 21% respectively.

The study further found the likelihood of developing kidney stones and bladder cancer are lower in fluoridated areas, with the rates 5.3% and 4.4% lower compared to other parts of the country.

While the specialists behind the research said more work needs to be done to draw long-term conclusions, they stressed the use of fluoride appears to be beneficial to the public.

“There is a good deal of speculation about water fluoridation schemes,” said John Newton, a senior official behind the research.

“This report provides new data which is direct evidence of the safety and efficacy of water fluoridation in England.

“There is no evidence of any effect on general health in fluoridated areas compared to non-fluoridated areas.

“There are important benefits in terms of dental health — it does look as if there are really significant benefits in those areas that have water fluoridation schemes.”

A previous study on the effect of the chemical in Newcastle and Manchester, which are pro- and anti-fluoridation respectively, linked fluoridation to a condition known as “dental fluorosis”, where white flecks develop on a person’s teeth.

This separate study found that the number of 12-year-old children in Newcastle with moderate dental fluorosis was 1%, compared to 0.2% in Manchester.

The English research comes just a fortnight after Agriculture Minister Simon Coveney confirmed that the Government is set to appoint an international group of consultants to examine the use of fluoride in Ireland’s public water supply.

The Cork South Central TD made the announcement during a meeting of Fine Gael councillors on March 11. That evening, Cork County Council voted in favour of a call for the Government to ban the use of fluoride as a public health measure in Ireland.

The county council move was welcomed by the Fluoride Free Towns group, which claimed: “There is enough scientific evidence out there which tells us we need to stop it.”

The campaign organisation said Bantry in West Cork is now Ireland’s first fluoride-free town, with similar plans targeted for Bandon, Castletownbere, Clonakilty, Kinsale, Macroom, and Skibbereen in the near future.