Prospective Study of the Association between Fluoride Intake and Dental Fluorosis in Permanent Teeth

Abstract

Objective: To evaluate the relationship between fluoride intake and dental fluorosis in permanent central incisors and first molars. Methods: Fluoride intake (mg F/kg body weight/day) from diet, dentifrice and both combined was determined on a single occasion in 1998 among children aged 19–39 months living in two fluoridated Brazilian communities (0.6–0.8 ppm F). Six years later, when the permanent teeth of these children had erupted (central incisors and first molars), 49 children aged 7–9 years [20 girls (40.8%) and 29 boys (58.2%)] were evaluated for dental fluorosis. To test the association between fluorosis and fluoride intake, children were dichotomized into two groups, cases (children with dental fluorosis on at least two teeth, TFI ≧1) and noncases (children without dental fluorosis, TFI = 0). Results: Among the case group (n = 29), median fluoride doses from diet, dentifrice and combined were 0.031, 0.050 and 0.083 mg F/kg/day, respectively. Among the noncase group (n = 20), median fluoride doses were 0.029, 0.049, 0.084 mg F/kg/day, respectively. There was no association between dental fluorosis in permanent teeth and fluoride intake from diet, dentifrice and combined (p > 0.05). Conclusions: There was no difference between children with and without fluorosis in the permanent central incisors and first molars regarding fluoride intake. However, this study has limitations that must be recognized: fluoride intake was only measured once, and there were no children in the sample with severe degrees of dental fluorosis.

Factors associated with dental fluorosis in school children in southern Brazil: a cross-sectional study

“…26 Furthermore, a study estimating F intake either from diet, or dentifrice or a combination of both for children with and without DF, found a similar F intake for both groups of children. 27 An association between a higher frequency of tooth brushing and fluorosis was detected in this study, in agreement with other studies. 20,28 Although the frequency of tooth brushing was not precise, it was used as a proxy measurement for the amount of F toothpaste being ingested, 26 insofar as higher frequencies of tooth brushing are expected to increase the risk of F intake.…”

Qualidade da água para consumo humano e concentração de fluoreto

“…Thus, Burt 2 suggested in 1992 that a daily dose of 0.07 mg F per kg of body weight should be taken as the upper limit, so that the resultant fl uorosis would not compromise the anti-caries benefi ts from fl uoride intake among children within the at-risk age group. However, this limit should be validated by data from a longitudinal dose-effect study, and no association between the dose and the resultant fl uorosis has been found 16 , requiring more studies about a safety dose.…”

Impact of dental fluorosis on the quality of life of children and adolescents

“…As a result of the development of various fl uoride products for individual and collective use, there has been an increase in the prevalence of dental fl uorosis 6 . Among these products, fl uoride toothpastes are used by children during tooth development.…”