Nick Markham, Lord Markham CBE, has been announced as the new president of the British Fluoridation Society (BFS).
Lord Markham succeeds Lord Hunt, who has stepped down following his return to government.
Lord Markham brings varied experience across public, private and voluntary sectors. He has held prominent leadership roles, including parliamentary under-secretary of state at the Department of Health and Social Care and chair of London & Continental Railways.
‘I am delighted to become president of the British Fluoridation Society,’ said Lord Markham.
‘Water Fluoridation is a safe, cheap, and effective way to protect children and adults from tooth decay. I look forward to working with the team to advance its roll-out across the UK.’
BFS chair Dr Barry Cockcroft CBE, welcomed Lord Markham, and added: ‘We are thrilled to have Lord Markham join as president. His wealth of experience and passion for public health will be invaluable as we continue our work promoting fluoridation as a critical tool for better oral health across the UK.’
State of dentistry
This comes as calls were made for a water fluoridation review to be considered by the mayor of London following a new investigation into the state of the capital’s dentistry.
Carried out by the London Assembly’s health committee, the report argued that water fluoridation could benefit ‘in all sectors of society, irrelevant of age’.
Titled Decay and delay: The state of dentistry and oral health in London, the City Hall investigation put forward a series of recommendations after looking at the state of dentistry and oral health in London.
Statistics suggest that one quarter of five-year-old children in London have experience of tooth decay. On top of this, 25.8% of five-year-olds in London experienced tooth decay in 2021-22 – which is higher than the English average of 23.7%.
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