Fluoridation of water in the West Midlands to reduce tooth decay

Around 70% of the population of the West Midlands are supplied with fluoridated water. Areas served by fluoridation schemes include Birmingham, Solihull, Coventry, Sandwell, Walsall and Wolverhampton, as well as parts of Dudley, South Staffordshire, Warwickshire, Worcestershire and Shropshire.

The West Midlands has 45 years’ experience of water fluoridation. The first scheme was introduced in Birmingham in 1964. Other schemes started in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s.

Figures from a 2005/06 national survey show that children in fluoridated parts of the West Midlands enjoy the best dental health in Britain. For example, the survey found that:

* Five-year olds in fluoridated South Staffordshire had, on

average, fewer decayed, missing and filled teeth than

anywhere else in the country.

* In fluoridated Solihull, more five-year olds were completely

free from tooth decay than in any other part of the country.

All water contains tiny amounts of fluoride naturally.

The precise level varies from one water source to another. In some places, such as Uttoxeter, fluoride occurs naturally at a concentration of around one part per million of water (1ppm). In a fluoridation scheme, levels that are lower than this are raised to 1ppm in order to replicate the dental benefits that researchers found many years ago in naturally fluoridated areas.