Children in the Republic have significantly lower levels of teeth decay than their Northern Ireland counterparts, a study published today claimed.
The findings were published in the preliminary report of the North/South Survey of Children's Oral Health 2002. It involved nearly 20,000 children and teenagers from both sides of the border and was carried out in 2002.
The study found the dental health of 15-year-olds was 40 per cent better south of the border - where most water is fluoridated.
In the Republic, 71 per cent of water contains fluoride compared to none in the North. But researchers warned that children whose water is fluoridated were more likely to suffer enamel fluorosis - a white mottling of the teeth caused by excessive ingestion of fluoride.
For every 1,000 15-year-olds in areas of the Republic where water was fluoridated there were an estimated 2,100 decayed, missing or filled teeth. This rose to 3,200 in non-fluoridated areas and to 3,600 in Northern Ireland.
Of the five-year-olds surveyed, some 30 per cent in fluoridated areas had one or more teeth missing, decayed or filled, whereas in non-fluoridated areas this rose to 47 per cent.
The survey showed that dental health in fluoridated areas had improved dramatically.
Although there was an overall decrease in decay levels the study also showed that two-thirds of 15-year-olds in both parts of the island had decay in their permanent teeth.