5 August 2008
Government officials are calling more of Britain's water supply to be fluoridated in a bid to combat tooth decay, it has emerged. Health Secretary Alan Johnson first announced the plans in February, although he did not make clear the full scale of the government's intentions. Reports now suggest that fluoride could be added to 40% of drinking water supplies, up from the current 10% in parts of the West Midlands and the North East. Dentists insist that fluoridation can greatly improve the condition of people's teeth, with children benefiting the most. Prof Helen Whelton, Director of the Oral Health Services Research Centre at University College Cork, has insisted that without a national fluoridation programme Ireland would have much higher levels of tooth decay than it has currently, the Irish Times reports. But critics have opposed the idea in the UK, claiming it amounts to the mass medication of water by water suppliers without the permission of their customers. John Graham from the National Pure Water Association told the Telegraph: "Fluoridation should cease immediately as it violates the right to refuse consent to a medical intervention."
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