John Gormley
Ceist:256 Mr. Gormley asked the Minister for Health and Children the incidence of Downs syndrome per head of population in fluoridated and non-fluoridated areas. [7484/98]
Written Answers. - Fluoridated Water Supply.
John Gormley
Ceist:257 Mr. Gormley asked the Minister for Health and Children the incidence of osteoporosis in fluoridated and non-fluoridated areas. [7485/98]
John Gormley
Ceist:258 Mr. Gormley asked the Minister for Health and Children the incidence of infant mortality in fluoridated and non-fluoridated areas. [7486/98]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 256 to 258, inclusive, together.
Data on mortality, including infant deaths, are collected through the death registration system and compiled by the Central Statistics Office. Information is classified down to county level for the purposes of statistical analysis. Since water supplies may be fluoridated in some parts of a county while unfluoridated in others, it is not possible to directly link CSO mortality files with fluoridation.
With respect to morbidity statistics, such as may relate to Down's syndrome or osteoporosis, comprehensive national data are not generally available with the exception of certain notifiable diseases and cancer. The incidence of Down's syndrome in the eastern region and in Galway is captured by the EUROCAT system, that is the European Concerned Action Programme on the Surveillance of Congenital Anomalies. Information on hospitalisation due to osteoporosis is collected in HIPE, the Hospital In-Patient Enquiry.
For both morbidity and morality, however, investigating any possible correlation or casual connection with fluoridation would require extensive in-depth research down to the level of individual records.
John Gormley
Ceist:259 Mr. Gormley asked the Minister for Health and Children the comparative dental health in all EU member states; which EU countries have mass fluoridation; the EU countries, if any, that abandoned fluoridation and the reason in this regard; if he will he make a statement on Ireland's dental health relative to all other EU member countries. [7488/98]
The last comparative study of oral health in 23 countries in Europe was published in 1996. The dmft score — dmft stands for decayed, missing and filled teeth — for five to seven year old children ranged from 0.9, the best score in the Irish Republic, to 5.4, the worst, in Poland. The following European countries use systemic fluoridation; Irish Republic, United Kingdom, Spain, France, Switzerland. A number of northern European countries discontinued water fluoridation for socio-political reasons including the fact that there was an oversupply and unemployment among dentists.