Dr. Andrew Bolas:

Donegal is a fluoridated area but Derry is not. The sample was chosen to try to equalise social class and so on. It is a very cost-effective method of preventing treatment. I dread to think what the state of our children's teeth would be like if we did not have it. Areas in the UK where one can match social class, economics and so on show marked increases in dental decay. As a consequence of that, one may need to use general anaesthetics to remove teeth from children, and there is no such thing as a safe anaesthetic. One is putting the child at risk to solve a problem that could have been prevented.