I AM happy to confirm for reader Brian Derbyshire ('Protect teeth and grandchildren', Monday, July 17, 2000) that fluoridated water is not at all poisonous. Indeed, it is positively good for us -- as the millions who have been drinking it in the West Midlands and North East for more than 40 years will testify.
Children's dental health here in Bolton is amongst the worst in the country. Tooth decay is a nasty condition and often leads to tooth loss.
Assuming Brian's unborn grandchild lives in Bolton, the likelihood of he or she having at least one tooth extracted for tooth decay before starting school is three times higher than for a child born in fluoridated Birmingham.
Parents and grandparents in Bolton and elsewhere in the North-west should be outraged that they and their families are being denied the protection of fluoridated water that people in the West Midlands and North East have had for over 40 years.
They should be writing to their MPs to demand fluoridation now.
Sheila Jones
Co-ordinator, National Alliance for Equity in Dental Health
University of Liverpool School of Dentistry
Chorley New Road
Bolton
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