Chemical could be added to Derby's tap water to fight dental crisis
A leading health boss has said Derby is being considered as a potential site for fluoride to be added to the city’s water supply to help tackle a dental crisis. Councillors of Derby City Council’s health scrutiny committee were told at a meeting that figures showed 21 per cent of five-year-olds in the city have experience of tooth decay – which is above the national average.
It is understood that each child with decay “has around four decayed, missing or filled teeth”, on average. Prevalence of tooth decay in Derby is the second highest of local authorities in Derbyshire with only Bolsover being higher at 25 per cent. The figures presented were dated in 2022.
It also showed that almost 23 per cent of adults in Derby (figures dated 2022) had access to NHS dentistry compared to 31 per cent in 2019 – before the coronavirus pandemic.
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Clive Newman, director of primary care for Derby and Derbyshire, described the figures as “shocking” both locally and nationally at the meeting on Tuesday (January 28).
Derby councillor Martin Repton called the information “incredibly worrying” and believed just giving children and parents leaflets about improving dental health care would not solve the problem.
He said: “When we look at access (to NHS dentistry) - just 23 per cent – so we’ve got 77 per cent of people in Derby that don’t have access to dental care. (It is) incredibly worrying.
“In terms of planned action, I think we need more than leaflets. How do we make sure we at an early stage we have access to nurseries, schools to school children and parents about those kids and getting into healthy oral habits about the importance of cleaning teeth regularly, using fluoride and other methods to keep the amount of decay down. It is incredibly worrying more than one in five five-year-olds have experienced tooth decay.”
A solution to improve oral and dental care across Derby could be water fluoridation. And it appears early steps are being taken to explore this in Derby. It has been reported that fluoride, a naturally occurring mineral, strengthens the outer surface of teeth “making them more resistant to decay”.
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The World Health Organisation recommends water fluoridation as an "effective and safe public health intervention", it is reported. However, there is controversy surrounding the matter. A blog on the Government’s website states: “The only potential negative impact is a greater risk of dental fluorosis, which is a mottling on the teeth usually in the form of white lines or patches.”
Mr Newman said Derby was being considered as a “potential site” for fluoride to be added to its water supply. But he warned work and discussions were required with water firms such as Seven Trent Water before there would be any possibility of it happening.
Mr Newman said: “There’s a long and very political conversation around water fluoridation. We have in Derby proposed that we would want to put our hat back in the ring to be part of a new programme to fluoridise the water supply.
“It links to the suppliers. We haven’t had much fluoridation in the last 30 years, there’s now a new programme to reintroduce it, which as you can imagine is quite controversial.
“You have to work with the water providers and they then have to work in their treatment plants to install it – I’m not an expert. The takeaway is we would like and we have put forward Derby as a potential site to at least explore the opportunity to get fluoride in the water.”
Derby City Council has provided information to say it is now the case that fluoride would be added to water supplies by water companies "when directed by the Secretary of State". But the Government has a duty to consult on this first.
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