Report Urges England to Expand Fluoridation
In the United Kingdom, a new report by the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health calls for health officials to expand community water fluoridation programs so that more people receive these benefits.
In the northeast region of England, officials are in the process of initiating a new water fluoridation program that will provide benefits to an additional 1.6 million people. The Royal College’s new report urges health officials to go even further. In its new State of Child Health 2026 report, the Royal College makes various recommendations, including this one:
“Expand and accelerate the implementation of community water fluoridation schemes across England.”
Although “the overall prevalence of tooth decay has declined in all four UK nations,” the Royal College’s new report points out that “rates have remained largely stable between 2020 and 2024, suggesting that progress in reducing tooth decay has stalled” since this issue was last considered in the State of Child Health 2020 report. The Royal College also notes that the percentage of hospital tooth extractions caused by tooth decay in children have remained stable or risen in recent years.
Health equity has been a major reason for the UK’s growing momentum in support of water fluoridation. As the British government explained, the original proposal for expanding fluoridation in the country’s northeast region “was made because of significant and long-standing oral health inequalities in the region, particularly in children.”
