Public Health England confirms value of fluoridation
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- Published: Monday, 31 March 2014 07:36
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Public Health England (PHE) has published ‘Water fluoridation: health monitoring report for England 2014’. It shows that children in areas of water fluoridation schemes have less tooth decay than those in places without such schemes. Sue Gregory, Director of Dental Public Health at PHE, said: “It is notable that the benefits of this public health measure appear to be greatest for children living in the most deprived areas of the country.”
The report noted that as many as 45% fewer children aged one to four in fluoridated areas are admitted to hospital for tooth decay – primarily to have decayed teeth extracted under a general anaesthetic – than in non-fluoridated areas. It says there is no evidence of harm to health in fluoridated areas.
PHE has found no differences between fluoridated and non-fluoridated areas in their rates of hip fracture, osteosarcoma (a form of bone cancer), cancers overall, Down’s syndrome births or all-cause mortality (all recorded causes of death). Rates of kidney stones and bladder cancer were lower in fluoridated areas than non-fluoridated areas, the report says. PHE cautions that this should not be interpreted as a ‘protective effect’ from fluoridated water, as the lower rates may be due to other factors and the possibility that they occurred by chance cannot be ruled out.
Key findings on the dental health of children were:
- When deprivation and ethnicity – both important factors for dental health – are taken into account, 28% fewer 5 year olds have tooth decay in fluoridated areas than non-fluoridated areas.
- When deprivation and ethnicity are taken into account, 21% fewer twelve year olds have tooth decay in fluoridated areas than non-fluoridated areas.
- The reduction in tooth decay in children of both ages in fluoridated areas appears to be greatest among those living in the most deprived local authorities.
Sue Gregory, Director of Dental Public Health at PHE, said:
These findings highlight the important contribution that water fluoridation makes to children’s dental health and general well-being. It is notable that the benefits of this public health measure appear to be greatest for children living in the most deprived areas of the country. This is significant for reducing the large differences we see in dental health between deprived and more affluent areas of the country.”
Professor John Newton, Chief Knowledge Officer at PHE, commented: “This report provides further reassurance that water fluoridation is a safe and effective public health measure. Since PHE came into existence in April 2013, this is our first report on the health of people living in fluoridated areas. We are required by legislation to produce them every four years on behalf of the Secretary of State for Health. We will use this report as a basis for discussions with local authorities on the scope and content of further reports and on the role of fluoridation as a public health measure.”
The report says a previous study (published in 2012) of fluoridated Newcastle upon Tyne and non-fluoridated Manchester found that the number of 12 year old children with moderate dental fluorosis or more is very low, at around 1% in Newcastle and 0.2% in Manchester. However, children in fluoridated Newcastle have less tooth decay than those in non-fluoridated Manchester.
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