More than 8,000 children in Blackpool are
to be offered fluoridated milk after councillors approved a proposal to
introduce it to the town’s existing free breakfast scheme.
Blackpool Council’s executive agreed a recommendation after hearing the scheme would help reduce the risk of tooth decay.
It
is hoped the milk, which is recommended by the World Health
Organisation, will help tackle poor dental hygiene among children in the
town.
Figures show almost half of 12-year-olds in Blackpool have at least
one decayed, missing or filled tooth – much higher than the national
average of 33 per cent.
But parents will be able to opt out if they wish.
Coun Graham
Cain, cabinet secretary for Blackpool Council, said: “Unfortunately the
state of Blackpool’s dental health is very poor.
“However, where
some parts of the country can benefit from fluoride naturally appearing
in their daily drinking water, in Blackpool we cannot.
“What we do
have is a method through the free breakfast programme that allows us to
reach all primary school children as they are growing up and make the
fluoride milk available to them there.”
But some concerns have been raised about the proposal.
Coun
Tony Williams, leader of the Conservatives on Blackpool Council, said:
“Parents now have to be really assured and confident that it is the
right move for their child.
“And if they don’t think it is, they need to contact their children’s school.”
The
proposal was first put forward in 2013 but delayed while further
studies were carried out. These found children in the town have lower
than normal levels of fluoride in their bodies.
The study examined pre-school children and monitored the levels of fluoride currently in their system.
A
group will now be formed combining Blackpool Council, Public Health
England, Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and oral
health charity the Borrow Foundation to oversee the application and
implementation of the scheme. The Gazette
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