NURSERY pupils could be offered fluoridated milk to tackle high levels of tooth decay.

A survey of five-year-olds has revealed that many parts of the county have higher than the national average rates of tooth decay.

In the Dales, 60 per cent of youngsters have problems with their teeth.

Only some parts of the county get fluoridated water, which health experts say helps to inhibit tooth decay.

Now Durham County Council and the County Durham and Tees Valley Health Authority are considering offering fluoridated milk to youngsters.

They will consult headteachers, governors and parents about the idea, and stress that any scheme will not be compulsory and parents will have a choice.

Tooth decay appears to be highest in areas of deprivation and is linked to poor diet.

The national average for five-year-olds with decay is 43 per cent, but in Sedgefield it is 55 per cent and in Easington 52 per cent, while Durham and Chester-le-Street's rate is 41 per cent and Derwentside's is 38 per cent.

David Landes, the health authority's consultant in dental public health, said: "The most worrying thing is the 25 per cent of youngsters who have 75 per cent of all decayed teeth. This is our underclass. These are the children hit exceptionally hard by dental decay.''

He said that those youngsters were more likely to develop serious dental problems, such as abscesses in later life.

Councillor Christine Smith, the county council's lead cabinet member on health improvements, said the NHS recognised that fluoridation of water had promoted improvements in oral health.

But fluoridation schemes stopped in 1986 because of public opposition, despite evidence that they were safe.

Coun Smith said: "Preliminary research carried out by health visitors in the Dales suggests that residents there would still not support the fluoridation of their water supplies.

"We have contacted the health promotion service and it is firmly in favour of introducing milk fortified with fluoride into schools in areas where drinking water is not fluoridated. It has indicated there are no health problems associated with drinking fluoridated milk.''

The scheme could be extended to all the county's primary schools.

Fluoridated milk is being tested in schools in Merseyside and Yorkshire. Opponents say it is linked to cancer and osteoporosis.

In the North-East, Tyneside receives fluoridated water, as do the Chester-le-Street, Stanley and Crook areas of County Durham.

Supplies from the former Hartlepool Water Company are naturally fluoridated.