Nottingham MP calls for council to consider water fluoridation in a bid to tackle decay
A Nottingham MP has called for the council to consider water fluoridation in a bid to tackle worrying rates of dental decay among children.
Graham Allen, the MP for Nottingham North, has suggested arranging a meeting to discuss the issue with NHS England and public health professionals, dentists and city councillors invited. Mr Allen believes it’s high-time that something was done to tackle the situation, which he described as “Victorian and intolerable.” He claimed that it’s time people stopped talking, and actually took practical steps towards reducing the numbers of children affected by decay, which is a preventable illness.
Mr Allen wants to see measures such as regular dental checks for primary school children and fluoride varnish treatment promoted for children living in the city. He also believes that adding fluoride to the water supplies could help to protect large numbers of children from cavities.
Mr Allen is keen to put a stop to a rising tide of children requiring hospital treatment for dental issues. Dentists across the UK have seen an increase in young children, some as young as 2 years old, suffering from severe decay, which requires extraction treatment under general anaesthetic.
Research by Public Health England suggests that every £1 spent on adding fluoride to municipal water supplies would return £12.71 for the first five years and £21.78 after ten years.
Recently, the issue of water fluoridation hit the headlines in Hull, as discussions take place over the future of fluoridation schemes.
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