Milk plans recommended for approval

A proposal to introduce fluoridated milk, which contains fluoride to help reduce the risk of tooth decay, is set to be decided by the council’s executive.

The milk, which is recommended by the World Health Organisation, is the latest in Blackpool Council’s plans to tackle poor dental hygiene amongst children in the town.

The proposal comes as figures show that almost half of twelve year olds in the town have at least one decayed, missing or filled tooth – much higher than the national average of 33 per cent.

Around 400 children in Blackpool are also admitted to hospital every year to have teeth extracted under general anaesthetic, at a cost to the NHS of thousands of pounds.

The announcement comes as a study carried out in Blackpool last year reveals that 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.