Ministers yesterday promised further research into the possible hazards of excessive fluoride exposure, including through toothpastes and naturally flouridated water, which might bring problems in bone health and cancer. But they said that a review of evidence by the medical research council had shown no grounds not to use water fluoridation as a public health measure.

The Department of Health is particularly concerned that children in deprived areas and from ethnic minorities have far more dental cavities than other children, which result in lifelong dental trouble.

The response will revive a debate on the ethics of "compulsory medication" sidestepped in seperate considerations on whether folic acid should be added to bread. The food standards agency shelved any recommendation, because the benefit in reducing numbers of babies with birth defects might be outweighed by the risk to older people.

Opponents of fluoridating water, including the Green party, will step up the complaint that it is a civil liberties issue, regardless of the evidence for the health effects.

About five million people in England have fluoride added to their tap water - in Birmingham, the West Midlands, and Tyneside; another 500,000 down the east of England from Hartlepool to areas of Essex get naturally fluoridated water.

Hazel Blears, the public health minister, said that a report by the research council "demonstrates once again that water fluoridation is an important and effective method of protecting the population from tooth decay, and reduces inequalities in dental health."

The British Dental Association, a strong campaigner for fluoridation, called for early scientific trials in areas where communities wanted fluoridation. "The more time we waste now, the more children will miss out," it said; in Birmingham, where tap water had been flouridated for almost 40 years, children's teeth were three times healthier than in Manchester, where there was no fluoridation.

Water UK, representing the supply industry, hoped the report would help end "seemingly endless arguments". Doubt over the legal and financial responsibility, as well as the ethical debate, had led to "policy paralysis". It added that, while water companies could do more fluoridation, they had no part to play in deciding if it should be done: "This must be exclusively in the hands of health authorities and the health department."

The report acknowledged the need for more information on the public's total exposure to fluoride, especially in children who were more likely to swallow toothpaste, and on discolouring of the teeth. A check on the possible impact of adding fluoride on the incidence of hip fractures, bone disorders, and some cancers, was also recommended.

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