BSPD welcomes water fluoridation consultation announcement as ‘monumental’
NewsPosted by: Dental Design 25th March 2024
The British Society of Paediatric Dentistry (BSPD) has warmly welcomed news that a public consultation on proposals to expand water fluoridation in the north east of England is commencing. Plans to expand the area’s water fluoridation to help tackle tooth decay have been put out to public consultation. The government’s announcement details that the consultation will last 12 weeks, after which responses are gathered and then its decision on whether to widen the scheme is published.
The plans to expand water fluoridation in the north east are aimed at tackling tooth decay. Water fluoridation is an effective measure for reducing tooth decay, particularly among young children and vulnerable adults in more deprived areas. Around half of the north east region already has fluoridated water, and proposals would extend the scheme to an additional 1.6 million people.
Community water fluoridation, which is part of BSPD’s recently issued Blueprint for dental recovery (see notes to editors) is a public health measure that results in substantial reductions in dental decay and resulting abscesses, toothache, tooth extraction and the need for general anaesthetic and hospital admission. BSPD also published a position statement on community water fluoridation in October 2021 (see notes to editors).
Claire Stevens CBE, BSPD Spokesperson, said: “BSPD supports the fluoridation of public water supplies in communities where the burden of dental decay is severe enough to warrant this public health measure and fluoridation is technically feasible. This announcement is monumental. It will be the first one conducted in an area of the UK for several decades. So, we welcome and will support this consultation – and look forward to seeing the outcomes. Dentistry is in crisis at the moment and now children’s oral health is everyone’s business – where creative approaches using proven interventions that deliver return on investment are more important than ever.”
