In order to fight tooth decay more effectively, fluoride will soon be added to drinking water in some parts of the UK.
Tooth decay is a widespread problem, not just in the UK. To reduce this dental disease, it is now expected across the UK that fluoride will be added to drinking water after the Association of British Chief Physicians – a kind of Robert Koch Institute – concluded that the mineral would successfully fight tooth decay.
Chris Whitty, Chief Medical Officer for England, and his counterparts in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland cited estimates from the UK Health Authority that adding more fluoride to drinking water would reduce tooth decay in richer children by 17 percent and in poorer children would reduce by 28 percent.
Fluoride in drinking water does not cause cancer
They also denied security concerns, as the UK-based Guardian summarizes. There is no evidence for the claims – mostly made in dubious media – that the ionized form of the element fluorine causes cancer, and at the same time condemn “exaggerated and unproven” rumors about health risks.
Fluoride is found in small amounts in water and is known to protect teeth. In an evidence review released Thursday, the health authority concluded: “As with anything in medicine and public health, there is a fair balance between risks and benefits. Undoubtedly, the UK has a tooth decay problem and ingrained inequality Adding fluoride to water can reduce this problem (…) All in all, there is strong scientific evidence that adding fluoride to water is an effective public health measure to reduce the incidence of tooth decay and to improve dental health across the UK. It should be seen as a complementary strategy, not a substitute for other effective methods. “
Tooth decay is the leading cause of hospitalization in children
Tooth decay is the leading cause of hospitalization in children aged five to nine in the UK, the Guardian reports. In the 2019 school year, 23.4 percent of five year olds in England and 26.5 percent of four to five year olds in Scotland had dental damage. It is now the responsibility of the local authorities to decide whether to add fluoride to the local water supply. The health bill, which MEPs now have to vote on, will give Health Minister Sajid Javid the power to order fluoride to be added to drinking water across the country.
A further step towards centralization is not planned for the time being. Javid tweeted a link to the Chief Medical Officer’s conclusions, writing, “Good to see British CMOs investigating how adding fluoride to water can improve oral health and prevent tooth decay, which disproportionately affects disadvantaged groups.”
Claims have existed since 2014
In England only 5.8 million people drink fluoride-containing water, some of which is already naturally contained in drinking water. That is significantly less than in countries such as the USA, Brazil, Australia, Canada, Spain, South Korea or New Zealand, as the “Guardian” sums up.
The World Health Organization recommends a limit of about twice what is likely to be set by current fluoride dosing plans. The British Dental Association (BDA) welcomed the statement by the UK chief physicians. Eddie Crouch, chairman of the BDA, said, “Every dentist will thank the CMOs for understanding the ongoing benefits of adding fluoride to the oral health of the country. However, these plans are purely theoretical – unless they are tangible financial ones Investments follow. Any expenditure in this area will pay off and the relevant ministers will have to show that they are ready to seize this opportunity now. We need a common approach. “
In Australia, too, demands on the addition of fluoride
The dispute over whether the mineral fluoride should be added to the water supply has been going on for a long time. As early as 2014, the British health authority asked politicians to add fluoride to drinking water in order to improve dental health, as reported by the Guardian.
Also in Australia in 2019, Queensland medical professionals lamented “extensive tooth decay” in parts of the state that refuse to add fluoride to water supplies, particularly among children and the elderly. Indigenous children, many of whom live in communities without fluoride, have a tooth decay rate of 70 percent. For all children in Queensland between the ages of five and 15, taken together, the rate was only 55 percent.
In 2016, Australia’s health authority emphasized – also to counter rumors to the contrary – that after analyzing more than 3,000 studies, adding the mineral to drinking water would not lower a person’s IQ, cause cancer or otherwise have negative health effects.
Sources: ,
