§ 13. Mrs. Renée Shortasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what 238 action she intends to take in connection with the report on fluoridation.
§ Dr. OwenI welcome the recent report of the Royal College of Physicians as further authoritative independent medical endorsement of the safety and efficacy of fluoridation as a community health measure for protection against dental decay.
I am writing to all area health authorities, in the light of this report, asking them to give very urgent consideration to the issue as part of their preventive health responsibilities.
§ Mrs. ShortI am obliged to my hon. Friend for that reply. In view of the cost to the nation's health of dental caries, will my hon. Friend also undertake to consult his right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Education and Science to ascertain what urgent action can be taken to help both parents and their children to look after their teeth by taking fluoride voluntarily until such time as the water authorities are able to act?
§ Dr. OwenI gladly undertake to enter into those discussions, but I must reiterate that the tablets taken to help with the fluoride problem are only one measure. A more satisfactory measure would be general fluoridation. However, my hon. Friend is right to express her concern. The general dental practitioners' service costs some £140 million a year.
§ Sir B. Rhys WilliamsInstead of encouraging compulsory mass medication through the water supply, would not the Department do better to encourage the sale of suitably medicated sweets and toothpastes as a way of introducing fluoride?
§ Dr. OwenAll the evidence shows that that is nowhere near as effective as fluoridation. We are not encouraging compulsory mass fluoridation. This is a decision to be taken by area health authorities in the light of their preventive health responsibilities. I hope that they will consider the evidence. The report from the Royal College of Physicians is authoritative.