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Reflections of the North East community water fluoridation network on their approach to the public consultation on the expansion of community water fluoridation in North East England.
| British Dental Journal (BDJ) | Rhiannon O´Connor and David Landes |
Fluoridation UK Other

Abstract

 

Introduction Following the Health and Care Act 2022, the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) recently held a national public consultation on the expansion of community water fluoridation (CWF) to a further 1.6 million people in North East England. This research explores the reflections of key stakeholders in the North East health and public health system on the regional approach to supporting this national consultation, and the conduct of the national consultation.

Methods In total, 25 stakeholders from the North East were interviewed and their responses analysed using thematic analysis.

Results The strategic approach taken in the North East was to maximise the quality and quantity of submissions to the national consultation, primarily by engagement with professionals and organisations. Final judgement on whether this was the ‘right’ approach was reserved until the consultation outcomes were known. Irrespective, regional collaboration, strong leadership, the investment of significant effort and a long-term approach were deemed essential to supporting the national consultation and progressing the CWF agenda. Interviewees generally praised the format of the national consultation; although, some areas for future consideration were suggested.

Conclusions This research can inform the approach of other regions to future CWF consultations and the actions of the DHSC in running such consultations in the future.

Key points

  • Following the passing of the Health and Care Act 2022, which transferred responsibility for community water fluoridation (CWF) in England from local authorities to the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) recently held its first national public consultation on the expansion of CWF to a further 1.6 million people in North East England.

  • This research explores how the North East health and public health system approached this national consultation and provides valuable learning for other regions interested in CWF.

  • This research also collates feedback from the North East health and public health system regarding the conduct of the national CWF consultation by the DHSC, which may be useful to inform future CWF consultations.

Data availability

The datasets generated during this research will not be made available for sharing. This is to protect the anonymity of the information shared, due to the challenges of data anonymisation.

References

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  15. UK Government. Community water fluoridation expansion in the north east of England 2024. Available at https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/community-water-fluoridation-expansion-in-the-north-east-of-england (accessed August 2024).

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank the participants in this research for their contributions.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Rhiannon O´Connor. Specialty Trainee in Dental Public Health, NHS England (North East and Yorkshire), United Kingdom

David Landes. Retired Consultant in Dental Public Health, NHS England (North East and Yorkshire), United Kingdom

Contributions

RO contributed to the conception of this research, conducted the interviews and data analysis, drafted the manuscript and approved the final version. DL contributed to the conception of this research, edited the manuscript and approved the final version.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Rhiannon O´Connor.

Ethics declarations

RO and DL are both members of the North East CWF network and, in accordance with the evidence base, support the use of CWF as a safe and effective method of protecting populations from dental decay. DL contributed to the conduct of this research (as outlined below) and was also a participant in this research. Ethical approval from an NHS Research Ethics Committee (NHS REC) was not required or obtained for this research, in line with guidance from the NHS Health Research Authority. This work constitutes research according to Section A of the guidance but, according to Section B, does not include any components which legally require NHS REC review. According to Section C, there is no policy requirement for NHS REC review of this research – it does involve NHS staff recruited as research participants by virtue of their professional role but this does not normally require NHS REC review unless material ethical issues are raised, which is not the case in this research. All interviewees provided informed consent before interview.

Cite this article

O´Connor, R., Landes, D. Reflections of the North East community water fluoridation network on their approach to the public consultation on the expansion of community water fluoridation in North East England. Br Dent J (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41415-025-8326-y

  • Received, 05 November 2024

  • Revised, 12 December 2024

  • Accepted, 30 December 2024

  • Published, 06 June 2025

Abstract online at https://www.nature.com/articles/s41415-025-8326-y#auth-David-Landes-Aff828519702154454573116