Sir, I have, of late, been refreshing my understanding of artificially fluoridated water supplies and the overwhelming evidence that supports its use to help reduce health inequalities.

I find it shameful that such an evidence-based public health intervention still only benefits 10% of the UK's population. As a trainee in paediatric dentistry I see more than my fair share of children suffering from the effects of dental caries. I wonder how many of these children would be spared such preventable pain and discomfort if only for one part per million of fluoride in their water supply.

What is more surprising (and disappointing from a UK perspective) is that despite initial fears that it was a communist plot at mind control the United States now supplies 66% of its population with fluoridated water. I would hope that our culture in the UK is more altruistic than that of the US and yet we are languishing far behind implementation of a simple, sensible and proven method of narrowing health inequality.

As NHS contracts aim to shift to a more prevention-biased system of remuneration it is important to remember that the single biggest, positive, caries prevention intervention that will ever benefit our patients and communities is 1 ppm fluoride in their drinking water.

I fear that as a profession we have become fatigued by the lack of progress on this subject and we need to collectively re-evaluate what we are doing to lobby for water fluoridation on a local, regional and national level.

I would strongly recommend that colleagues visit www.bfsweb.org to rekindle their inner pro-fluoridation activist.

I have no affiliation with the British Fluoridation Society.

1. Liverpool