EXCERPT:
Councillor Couchman asked whether the water in Oxfordshire is fluorinated. No water in Oxfordshire is currently fluorinated due to the difficulties in limiting the water supply to Oxfordshire properties and the political difficulties in getting agreement to do this. It was noted that most people use fluoride toothpaste these days so should be getting fluoride this way.
It was felt that it is more appropriate to target hotspots as the cost benefit vs practicality argument is difficult.
The need to target care homes was agreed and continuing work with children’s centres and schools which is very effective.
Greater awareness of the need for check ups for wider oral health including cancers was considered important to promote and there will be input into future diabetes advice.
Members noted that the new dental contract will have a greater focus on prevention.
In response to a question from Councillor Skolar about the budget for dental health it was noted that Oxfordshire has successfully bid to the Strategic Health Authority and Department of Health for additional funds as core funding is based on figures from when dentistry originally became a PCT responsibility. And was doing as much as possible to maximise the use of budgets…
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