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Fluoridation

The world's first water fluoridation scheme was launched in Grand Rapids Michigan USA in 1945 with the aim of replicating the benefits to teeth which had been discovered in communities with natural fluoride levels in their water around 1 part per million. Over 300 million people worldwide now drink water fortified with fluoride.

3.7 million in the West Midlands benefit from fluoridated water. Lichfield water (South Staffs Waterworks Company) is fluoridated. and 5 year olds in South Staffordshire have the best dental health in Britain with 6 times less decay than non-fluoridated Greater Glasgow. Opinion poll support in the West Midlands runs around 70% in favour of adding fluoride with 17% against.

A team of independent researchers in York reviewed the evidence from world wide studies available in 1999/2000 and found no link between fluoridation and overall cancer incidence. Whilst there was a slight increase in hip fractures in some areas, other areas showed a reduction or no change so overall bone health seems unaffected by fluoridation with other reasons (such as obesity and lack of exercise) likely to be behind the variation. In the US, osteoporotic fractures in women who had taken fluoridated water for more than 20 years were less (31% hip, 27% vertebra) than those in non-fluoridated communities.

For more information on fluoridation, visit http://www.dentalhealthwestmidlands.nhs.uk

News Archive Friday 6th October 2000: Fluoridation of water
The debate over addition of fluoride to drinking water has been going on for 50 years despite 360 million people in 60 countries being exposed to fluoridated water. An independent study was set up by the Government to look at the research evidence available worldwide. The team has now reported. 214 research studies were included in the review but, despite the years of debate, the quality of the research was low to moderate. Fluoridation increases the proportion of children with no tooth decay and reduces the total number of teeth affected by decay. The median reduction in children without decay was around 14.6% if all results were pooled. The downside is that at a fluoride level of 1 part per million 12.5% of the population exposed has mottling of their teeth (fluorosis) which they would find aesthetically concerning. No other negative effects were found.
Lower figures for reduction in decay associated with fluoridated water can be expected with the passage of time as improved dental care and exposure to fluoride increases from other sources including toothpaste. (South Staffs Waterworks Company has added fluoride for many years.)
The full report is available at http://www.york.ac.uk/inst/crd/fluorid.htm  

A further positive effect of fluoridation was shown in a study published in the same issue of the British Medical Journal. Women aged 65 or older who had been constantly exposed to fluoridated water for 20 years had higher bone mineral density at the lumbar spine and hip with a slightly lower risk of hip and vertebral fractures than women not exposed to fluoridated water.
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