Dental Milk For Blackpool Children
A scheme to provide dental milk for children in Blackpool is set to be approved by the council.
Health chiefs put forward the idea of giving children dental milk, milk that contains fluoride, and the move is expected to be approved by councillors in an upcoming meeting. Councillors are planning to hold sessions with parents to discuss the new scheme and there is the option of opting out.
Under the new scheme, dental milk would be given out to children as part of the programme to provide free breakfast for primary school children in the local area.
The aim is to try and reduce the rate of decay in the area, which rates among the worst in the UK, with more than 1 in 3 five year olds exhibiting signs of tooth decay and 43 per cent of children under 12 years old suffering from decay.
If councillors vote in favour of the new programme, it will come into play in the next school year.
Councillor Sarah Riding said that it is important to act to reduce rates of decay in Blackpool, with standards of oral health significantly lower than the national average. She added that there is often a lot of scaremongering when new initiatives are announced and urged parents to go along to the information sessions over the coming months to find out about the scheme and how it could benefit their children.
The council is currently looking at costs and a decision on the future of the programme will be made at a meeting early next week.
The move has been criticised by Doug Cross, from the UK Councils against Fluoridation, who claims that there is no scientific evidence to support the fact that fluoride reduces the risk of decay.
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