IN replying to the letter by A Brooks, (Bolton Evening News, June 13,) may I say that I am certainly not upset by his caustic remarks about my ignorance and bigotry.

In fact, he has just strengthened my resolve to fight against the addition of fluoride to our drinking supplies.

As a self-confessed NHS dentist, I would have thought he would have had the good sense to lay the blame for the state of some children's teeth where it rightly belongs with the parents of these children.

The anti-fluoride lobby has no control over other people's offspring, and I dare suggest that we would not want it, but the quick, easy and painless way to save children's teeth is to monitor what they eat and drink, as my wife and I did with our three when they were young.

On Mr Banks' own admission, he "made a fat salary and superannuated pension" out of the suffering and distress "of my fellow citizens". I honestly don't know whether he is bragging or just complaining.

Perhaps he feels that my ignorance and bigotry had something to do with the state of some children's teeth, and the fact that no blame has been levelled at the children's parents who have allowed this to happen.

I suppose that his answer to that is that it is of no concern to him what these children eat and drink.

As regards "when will I learn".

Well I learned a good number of years ago, that sweets and fizzy drinks, are no good for the teeth, and as a dentist, I would have thought that he would have known that.

Jack Sinclair

Rawson Road

Bolton