Risks of fluoride dentifrice in the prevention and control of dental caries in the primary childhood

Abstract

Fluoride toothpaste has been considered responsible for the caries decline which occurred either in developed or in developing countries, such as Brazil. However, since children inadvertently ingest a certain amount of toothpaste while brushing their teeth, there is a concern on the subsequent fluorosis. Nevertheless, the potential risk of fluorosis from fluoride toothpaste has been overestimated based on the dose of fluoride ingested, considering as limit the dose of 0.07 mg F/kg body weight/day, and not on the actual fluorosis outcome. The dose of fluoride ingestion from toothpastes has been overestimated because It does not consider how much of fluoride is bioavailable to be absorbed and cause fluorosis. The lack of association between ingestion dose and fluorosis has been shown experimentally and observed epidemiologically by the mild degree of fluorosis found, which enables us to ratify the importance of the recommendation of fluoride toothpaste for caries control in young children, with few concerns on possible side effects.