A STUDY of more than 400,000 children in India showed no benefit of water fluoridation. Studies in England and Scotland found the same result. In a study in Chile, spanning 40 years, found the same result, no benefit.

Birmingham (fluoridated) spends significantly more on dental treatment than Manchester (unflouridated). If fluoridation makes their teeth so good in Birmingham then tell me why this is?

Almost all major nations except the US and Britain have stopped flouridation. Ninety eight per cent of Europe has stopped it, Ireland one of the few European nations still doing it, is considering discontinuing it. India , China and Japan discontinued it after thorough research. The Netherlands stopped it and have even changed their constitution to ban it from ever being reintroduced. The French stopped it in 1998 as their health minister said it was too dangerous to continue. The Canadian government has advised against giving flouridated water to children aged under six.

Do Dr Mortimore and his colleagues think they know better than the experts and scientists in other countries?

Several nations including Germany stopped fluoridation because they realised it is immoral to mass medicate the entire population.

Dr Mortimore says there will be a consultation.

There have already been several, and fluoridation keeps getting rejected. I hope this next consultation will not be another Government led sham, like the post office closure consultations were.

If you study the data, Dr Mortimore, you will find that it does not provide clear evidence that fluoridation is the cause for the decline in dental caries around the world.

CHRIS BARKER, Sholing, Southampton.