§ Lord Colwynasked Her Majesty's Government:
To what extent Birmingham children receiving fluoridated water enjoy better dental health than children from other comparable communities receiving low fluoride water supplies and what evidence there is, in the light of experience elsewhere, that the dental health of children in Birmingham and other areas receiving fluoridated water from the Elan Valley reservoir scheme will be put at risk by the proposed action of the Severn-Trent Water Authority.
§ Lord HeskethA study undertaken in 1987 of 14 year-old children compared the difference in dental caries experienced in fluoridated South Birmingham and non-fluoridated Bolton (Mitropoulos et al,British Dental Journal 1988, 164: 349/350). This showed that 32 per cent. of children in Birmingham were free of caries compared to only 19 per cent. in Bolton.
Evidence of the effects of the discontinuation of fluoridation is also well documented. Following the decision in 1979 not to continue the fluoridation scheme in Wick, a study of 5 to 6 year-olds attending the five junior schools was undertaken in that town. This study was repeated five years later in the same schools by the same examiner. The results showed that there was a 10.1 per cent. reduction in the number of children free from caries. (Stephens et al, British Dental Journal 1987, 163: 324/326). A similar study in trends in dental health of 10 year-old 981WA schoolchildren in south-west Scotland five years after the cessation of water fluoridation also showed an increase in the prevalence of dental caries.