FAQs for the North East
What is fluoride?
Fluoride is a mineral that occurs naturally in the environment – it’s found in water, both drinking water and seawater, in the soil and certain foods. When combined with other minerals, fluoride strengthens tooth enamel. The addition of fluoride to toothpaste has contributed over the last few decades to an overall improvement in dental health in England. There are fewer extractions and fewer people wearing dentures. But there is some way to go to achieve across-the-board improvement, which is why community water fluoridation is recommended in some areas.
What is community water fluoridation?
Community water fluoridation (CWF) is the addition of fluoride to the drinking water supply. It adjusts the naturally occurring level of fluoride to one part per million of water and it is recommended as a public health measure to reduce tooth decay. In the UK, six million people benefit from fluoridated water, including in parts of the North East. The communities with fluoridated water in our area are Newcastle upon Tyne, Gateshead, Consett, North Shields, Wallsend, Whitley Bay, Hexham and Alnwick. In these communities, dental health is better than in neighbouring non-fluoridated areas.
Why fluoridate more areas of the North-East?
Children who grow up in the non-fluoridated areas are more likely to suffer from decay than those in areas where the water is fluoridated. Decay doesn’t just mean fillings, it can mean pain and infection, extractions and root canal treatments. Teeth treated in childhood are likely to need more treatment in the future, bringing a lifetime of dental disadvantage. Water fluoridation has been shown to reduce the number of young children admitted to hospital for dental extractions. It also benefits adult teeth and it’s important to give the rising number of people living into older age the best possible chance of keeping their teeth for a lifetime.
How do we know water fluoridation reduces health inequalities?
A recent study in the North East has demonstrated forcibly how health inequalities could be reduced by water fluoridation. Researchers compared decay levels in 5-year-old children in fluoridated and non-fluoridated areas of the North East which were ranked according to income levels. In the most deprived communities water fluoridation had the most positive impact: 29% of five year olds suffering from dental decay compared to nearly 40% of 5-year-olds in a non-fluoridated area.
How does it work?
Fluoride works in several ways, which is the reason why it is so effective. First, when fluoride in drinking water is swallowed at an age teeth are forming, the dental enamel is more resistant to decay – less soluble to acids which form in dental plaque after sugar is eaten. Second, when teeth are in the mouth, fluoride in water, toothpaste, mouthrinses etc. helps to reduce the development of dental decay and, also, helps to heal areas of enamel which might be beginning to decay. Thus, fluoride provides benefit to the very young, whose teeth are forming, and to children and adults of all ages.How do we know it’s safe and effective?
We know water fluoridation is safe and effective because the evidence tells us so in a variety of ways:
• There are water fluoridation programmes in 25 countries covering many major cities of the world - some have been operating for up to 70 years
• The schemes are monitored by public health bodies and the results are published - any adverse effects would have been identified decades ago
• More than 400 million people worldwide live in areas with fluoridated water
• Some populations benefit from water in which the fluoride is naturally occurring – their oral health is better than in comparable non-fluoridated areas
• Occasionally, the addition of fluoride to a water supply is stopped and the level of decay then rises
Claims are made about the negative impact of water fluoridation on health – are they true?
There is no negative impact on health. However, there is a lot of misinformation on the topic of fluoridation which has held back progress in the UK. Most of the claims that are made are untrue and unhelpful. We have known for over 70 years, however, that dental fluorosis can occur when too much fluoride is swallowed by young children. Dental fluorosis is a cosmetic condition featuring white flecks or mottling on teeth. Public Health England monitors the impact of water fluoridation and its 2018 report shows that dental fluorosis is not harmful to health.
Why carry out a public consultation?
Since a change in the law in 2012, local authorities must carry out a public consultation before fluoridating the water supply. This gives local populations the opportunity to debate the issue.
What is the view of the dental profession?
Many of us have united into a campaigning organisation called the National Community Water Fluoridation Network because we want to see the dental health of our children improve across the board. A representative meeting of dentists in 2019 voted unanimously to applaud local authorities which implement water fluoridation. We are doing our best to make sure local authorities have the evidence they need for public consultations. We have the support of the British
Fluoridation Society (BFS), a charity formed 50 years ago by human rights campaigner Lord Avebury and by dentists.
BFS has an archive of evidence that it is ready to share with anyone wanting to know more on the topic. Support for the principle of water fluoridation has also come from the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, the British Medical Association, the National Children’s Bureau and other individuals and organisations which care passionately about reducing health inequalities.
