Basis of calculations for economic effectiveness of water fluoridation

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Dear National Institute for Health and Care Excellence,

At a recent County Council meeting, the Chairman of the Health and Well Being Board stated that for every £1 spent on water fluoridation after 5 years the savings to the NHS in dental costs etc was £12.71. After 10 years the savings are apparently £21.98 for every £1 spent.

Please provide the origin of these figures and the calculations leading up to these figures.

Yours faithfully,

Joy Warren

NICE Mail, National Institute for Health and Care Excellence

 

Dear Ms Warren,

 

Reference No: EH90279

 

FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT 2000

 

Thank you for your request, sent to our office on 24 February 2018, in
which you asked NICE for the following information:

 

At a recent County Council meeting, the Chairman of the Health and Well
Being Board stated that for every £1 spent on water fluoridation after 5
years the savings to the NHS in dental costs etc was £12.71.  After 10
years the savings are apparently £21.98 for every £1 spent.

Please provide the origin of these figures and the calculations leading up
to these figures.

Your request will now be considered and you will receive a response within
the statutory timescale of 20 working days as defined by the Act, subject
to the information not being exempt or containing a reference to a third
party. In some circumstances we may be unable to achieve this deadline. If
this is likely you will be informed and given a revised time-scale at the
earliest opportunity.

 

There may be a fee payable for the retrieval, collation and provision of
the information you request. If this is the case you will be informed and
the 20 working day timescale will be suspended until we receive payment
from you. If you chose not to make a payment then your request will remain
unanswered.

 

Some requests may also require either full or partial transference to
another public authority in order to answer your query in the fullest
possible way. Again, you will be informed if this is the case.

 

I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your interest in
NICE.

 

Yours sincerely,

Natalie

 

Communications Executive

Corporate Communications

National Institute for Health and Care Excellence
Level 1A | City Tower | Piccadilly Plaza | Manchester M1 4BT | United
Kingdom

Tel: 0300 323 0141 | Fax: 0300 323 0149
Web: [1]http://nice.org.uk

 

show quoted sections

NICE Mail, National Institute for Health and Care Excellence

Dear Ms Warren,

 

Reference No: EH90279

 

FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT 2000

 

Thank you for your request, sent to our office on 24 February 2018, in
which you asked NICE for the following information:

 

At a recent County Council meeting, the Chairman of the Health and Well
Being Board stated that for every £1 spent on water fluoridation after 5
years the savings to the NHS in dental costs etc was £12.71.  After 10
years the savings are apparently £21.98 for every £1 spent.

Please provide the origin of these figures and the calculations leading up
to these figures.

 

The Freedom of Information Act relates to recorded information held by a
public authority, at the time of the request.

 

NICE does not hold the information you have requested.

 

Therefore, we are not able to respond in the context of the Act.

 

If you have any questions on this response you are welcome to call me on
the enquiry handling team number: 0300 323 0141 (weekdays 09:00 – 17:00).

 

If you are unhappy with this response and want an internal review of how
we handled your request, you must write to us within 20 working days of
our response. Send your request to: Associate Director, Corporate Office,
National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, 10 Spring Gardens,
London SW1A 2BU or email: [1][email address]. When we receive your
request we will send you an acknowledgement within 5 working days.

 

The Associate Director, Corporate Office, will review your complaint and
send you a full reply within 20 working days. If you are dissatisfied
with the outcome of this review, you can apply directly to the Information
Commissioner for a decision at: The Information Commissioner’s Office,
Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire SK9 5AF.

 

Additional information

 

NICE has not published a guideline on water fluoridation.

 

You may be interested to note that in October 2014, NICE published a
guideline on [2]oral health: local authorities and partners (PH55). The
use of fluoride toothpaste and fluoride varnish programmes are covered by
the guideline.

 

However, footnote 1 from within the [3]What is this guideline about?
section of the guidance explains that: “Water fluoridation is outside the
scope of this guideline. See [4]Water fluoridation: health monitoring
report for England 2014 (Public Health England 2014)”.

 

In addition to referring to the Public Health England report mentioned
above, you might find it useful to refer to Public Health England’s
webpage on [5]Improving the oral health of children: cost effective
commissioning. The page is described as “Resources to support local
authorities investing in the local commissioning of oral health
improvement programmes for pre-school children”.

 

It includes a document containing a rapid review of evidence on the
cost-effectiveness of interventions (including water fluoridation) to
improve the oral health of children aged 0 to 5 years. The page also links
to a return on investment (ROI) tool on oral health in pre-school
children. ROI tools can be used to estimate the value of investing in
early diagnosis and prevention in local areas.

 

Please note that NICE is not responsible for these externally produced
resources, but I include them here to be helpful.

 

If you have not already done so, we would suggest you ask the county
council if they can confirm the source of the specific figures and
calculations that were discussed at the meeting.

 

Kind regards

Natalie

 

Natalie Whelan

Communications Executive

National Institute for Health and Care Excellence
Level 1A | City Tower | Piccadilly Plaza | Manchester M1 4BT | United
Kingdom

Tel: 0300 323 0141 | Fax: 0300 323 0149
Web: [6]http://nice.org.uk 

 

 

 

 

From: NICE Mail
Sent: 27 February 2018 09:45
To: '[FOI #467060 email]'
<[FOI #467060 email]>
Subject: RE: Freedom of Information request - Basis of calculations for
economic effectiveness of water fluoridation (ref EH90279)

 

 

Dear Ms Warren,

 

Reference No: EH90279

 

FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT 2000

 

Thank you for your request, sent to our office on 24 February 2018, in
which you asked NICE for the following information:

 

At a recent County Council meeting, the Chairman of the Health and Well
Being Board stated that for every £1 spent on water fluoridation after 5
years the savings to the NHS in dental costs etc was £12.71.  After 10
years the savings are apparently £21.98 for every £1 spent.

Please provide the origin of these figures and the calculations leading up
to these figures.

Your request will now be considered and you will receive a response within
the statutory timescale of 20 working days as defined by the Act, subject
to the information not being exempt or containing a reference to a third
party. In some circumstances we may be unable to achieve this deadline. If
this is likely you will be informed and given a revised time-scale at the
earliest opportunity.

 

There may be a fee payable for the retrieval, collation and provision of
the information you request. If this is the case you will be informed and
the 20 working day timescale will be suspended until we receive payment
from you. If you chose not to make a payment then your request will remain
unanswered.

 

Some requests may also require either full or partial transference to
another public authority in order to answer your query in the fullest
possible way. Again, you will be informed if this is the case.

 

I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your interest in
NICE.

 

Yours sincerely,

Natalie

 

Communications Executive

Corporate Communications

National Institute for Health and Care Excellence
Level 1A | City Tower | Piccadilly Plaza | Manchester M1 4BT | United
Kingdom

Tel: 0300 323 0141 | Fax: 0300 323 0149
Web: [7]http://nice.org.uk

 

show quoted sections