Council dispels myths over fluoridated milk

Questions have been raised over the addition of fluoride to school milk in Blackpool after claims on social media the practice is unsafe.

Since 2016 all Blackpool primary school children in years one to six have been able to have fluoridated milk, as part of the school breakfast scheme.

In order to dispel myths around the issue, the Local Democracy Reporting Service asked Blackpool’s director of public health Dr Arif Rajpura for clarification on the issue.

He reassured parents the milk is safe to drink and helps keep children’s teeth healthy.

Dr Rajpura said: “Since 2016, parents of children at Blackpool primary schools have been able to choose if they would like their child to have fluoridated milk as part of their free breakfast.

“The move came following a study which revealed that children in Blackpool 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.

“Fluoride is a naturally occurring mineral which can be added to food and water and contributes to maintain tooth mineralisation.

“The mineral is commonplace in popular toothpastes and in some areas of the country water supplies have naturally occurring fluoride, or have fluoride added by the water suppliers; however that does not happen in Blackpool.

“Fluoridated milk is no different to normal milk, except it includes a tiny bit of fluoride, which is safe to drink and helps keep teeth healthy, as part of a good dental regime.”

Dr Rajpura also believes fluoride should be added to drinking water in Blackpool as it would help reduce tooth decay in adults. He told a meeting of the town’s Health and Wellbeing Board in July it was important to lobby for fluoridation.

According to the NHS website, many areas of England already have fluoride in the water including Cumbria and it has been “found that water fluoridation appears to contribute to reduced tooth decay levels and doesn’t seem to be associated with any significant health risks”.

Recent figures show almost a third of five-year-olds in Blackpool suffer from tooth decay, while less than a third of Blackpool’s children were seen by an NHS dentist in 2021 compared to more than 40 per cent across England. NHS figures also show in 2022 only 35 per cent of adults in Blackpool received NHS dental care.