Fluoride is to be added to the Southampton and South Hampshire water supply after a three month consultation by Southampton City Primary Care Trust (PCT).

Members of the South Central Strategic Health Authority (SHA) Board, comprising Executive and Non-executive Directors, voted unanimously in favour of the proposal to increase the level of fluoride in the local water supply from 0.08 parts per million to 1 ppm – the optimal level for tackling tooth decay. Using powers under the Water Act 2003 they will demand water companies add the chemical by around 2010.

Five-year-old children from Southampton have over twice as many teeth affected by decay as those from South Birmingham and around three times more than those from South Staffordshire, where the water is fluoridated.

Jim Easton, Chief Executive of South Central SHA said, 'The Board was satisfied that, based on existing research, water fluoridation is a safe and effective way to improve dental health. It is something which has been added to the water supply in parts of the UK including Birmingham for many years, and despite the best public health monitoring available no significant health problems have been identified.'

The British Dental Association welcomed the decision as it believes that fluoridation will play an important role in reducing the high levels of dental decay in the area. BDA Scientific Adviser Professor Damien Walmsley commented, 'The significance of today's decision is not confined to the 193,000 people it will affect directly. Other SHAs in England have been waiting to see whether South Central – as the first SHA to consult on fluoridation since the law changed in 2003 – would succeed, before launching their own consultations.'