Fresh calls have been made for fluoride to be put in Blackpool’s drinking water to help combat tooth decay in children in the town. Figures show almost a third of five-year-olds in Blackpool suffer from tooth decay.
But less than a third of Blackpool’s children were seen by an NHS dentist in 2021 compared to more than 40 per cent across England. NHS figures also show in 2022 only 35 per cent of adults in Blackpool received NHS dental care.
Blackpool’s director of public health Dr Arif Rajpura told a meeting of the town’s Health and Wellbeing Board that lobbying for fluoridation of the water was an important step. Since 2016 all Blackpool primary school children in years one to six have been able to have fluoridated milk, as part of the school breakfast scheme.
He said: “We don’t have fluoride in our water although we do have it in school milk. But ultimately we would like a water fluoridation scheme and it is important to keep lobbying around that.”
According to the NHS website, many areas of England already have fluoride in the water including Cumbria and it has been “found that water fluoridation appears to contribute to reduced tooth decay levels and doesn’t seem to be associated with any significant health risks”.
Original article online at: https://www.lancs.live/news/lancashire-news/blackpool-health-boss-makes-fresh-29566949