But the latest research, centred on Hartlepool, a town with naturally high fluoride in water, says other factors are more relevant in dictating the risk of fractures. The MRC researchers said increased fracture rates could not be blamed on concentrations of fluoride at levels found in water supplies, even when additional fluoride was added. There was no difference in the chance of hip fractures for those people looked at in the study regardless of how long they had been exposed to higher fluoride levels. Professor David Coggon and his team looked at the cases of 914 hip fracture patients and 1196 people, also from the Hartlepool area, who had not suffered from the condition, reports the medical journal The Lancet. Water UK, which represents all the country's water suppliers, said it was up to local communities to decide whether it wanted its water supplies to be fluoridated.
Health authorities can ask for fluoride to be added to water but the supplier has the final say.
Since 1985 only one request out of a total of 56 has been granted. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites Links to other Health stories are at the foot of the page.