Wakefield to consider water fluoridation
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- Published: Tuesday, 15 September 2015 07:41
- Written by News Editor
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Wakefield (West Yorkshire) Council has been advised to consider water fluoridation after research showed 40 per cent of five-year-olds and one in five three-year-olds had decayed teeth. These rates of tooth decay are above average, and the problem is more likely to affect people from deprived backgrounds.
The measure was last considered there in 2007 and has been controversial with campaigners saying it could be harmful to health. But a report to the Council’s Caring For Our People overview and scrutiny committee (OSC) said the latest evidence showed fluoridation was safe and would reduce tooth decay.
The Oral Health Needs Assessment said: “It is recommended that Wakefield Council OSC reconsider a local water fluoridation scheme in order to improve the oral health of the children in the district. It is likely that it would close the inequality gap of oral health between the richest and poorest children across Wakefield.”
Public Health England (PHE) published latest fluoridation research in March 2014. The report to the Council added: “Given the recent PHE report that provides evidence to support the claim that water fluoridation is safe and effective, the quality of the evidence has improved since Wakefield OSC reviewed this issue in 2007.”
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