A motion to look at putting fluoride into drinking water to combat the county's growing dental issues will be discussed this week. 

Liberal Democrat backbench councillors Abigail West and Mark Chatfield are proposing that the wider council backs them in a call for the local authority to approach the health secretary about the move.  

Both Severn Trent and Anglian Water, which provide water in the county, say they do not add fluoride to the water. 

Rutland is currently the worst area in the health board region for access to dental care and in recent weeks the local healthwatch has raised concerns about the long term impacts the poor access could have on health. 

The councillors say in their motion: "Dental access across Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland in 2022/23 was less than pre-pandemic levels. This was largest in Rutland, with a reduction of over 17%. The decrease in access was 9% for adults and 18% for children. While oral health promotion measures may not improve dental access in Rutland, they will likely contribute towards improvements in oral health from a prevention point of view, reducing service demand.  

"Fluoride is a naturally occurring substance. Populations whose drinking water contains greater concentrations of fluoride have been found to have lower levels of dental caries. Water fluoridation aims to reduce levels of dental caries by allowing fluoride to be present in water supplies.  

"Water fluoridation has been identified as a cost-effective and safe measure to reduce dental caries across populations. Dental access issues are a common problem across the country, including within Leicestershire where a recent study found almost all dentists were not accepting new NHS patients. Thus, demonstrating the need to examine other population approaches to ameliorate current dental health issues." 

It is a long process to fluorinate the drinking water. Until 2022 it was the responsibility of the local authority to make the decision but now that rests with the department of health. The process would be for an evidence pack to be created locally and then sent to the secretary of state for a decision.  

If approved the water companies, Anglian Water and Seven Trent, would need to do their own feasibility before a public consultation. New infrastructure and funding agreements would also need to be agreed before the system is switched on. 

Nottingham and Leicester city councils have recently declared their intentions to pursue water fluoridation. 

The motion says: "As water supplies do not follow the same boundaries as local authorities, we would look to work in partnership with our neighbouring authorities. This would allow a more robust evidence pack to be developed. Due to the high initial infrastructure costs (which central government take on), as demonstrated by the northeast expansion proposals, working across a larger footprint would likely be more favourable to the government due to the cost effectiveness. Working with neighbouring authorities, some of whom have significant issues in relation to oral health may also strengthen our case due to their poorer oral health, however all options will be considered."  

If the council approves the motion on Thursday (Nov 21) it is recommended that Cllr Diane Ellison (Lib Dem), who chairs Rutland's health and wellbeing committee, would work with local health partners to put together the evidence pack to go to the health secretary.