§ Mr. ThurnhamTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the correlation between the incidence of dental caries among schoolchildren and the proportion of fluoride in the water over the last 10 years(a) in England and (b) in the north-west; and if he will make a statement. [15630]
§ Mr. MaloneDuring the last 10 years, the British Fluoridation Society has produced a series of national dental health league tables on levels of tooth decay in five, 12 and 14-year-olds using data from the British Association for the Study of Community Dentistry surveys of children's dental health. These league tables show that, in general, districts with the best oral health were fluoridated. Most of the worst districts for tooth354W decay were not fluoridated; a number of these are in the north-west. BFS leaflets showing the league tables will be placed in the Library.