SYSTEMIC FLUORIDES - DROPS AND TABLETS

Fluoride drops and tablets are effective caries-inhibiting agents whic h exercise their benefit through mainly topical means. Results of cari es trials in which drops or tablets were used in the home vary from ex cellent to poor, depending on the compliance rates of both parents and offspring. Delivery in schools has also produced reductions of >80%, and as poor as 20%, again possibly dependent on teacher vigilance. The pre-natal controversy re fluoride tablet benefits has only recently b een tested under a true double-blind protocol and resulted in a non-si gnificant effect, although the trend was in favour of those whose moth ers had taken F- tablets during pregnancy. Hence, while at the individ ual level, the slow intra-oral dissolution of fluoride tablets can be of great benefit for coronal caries in children, adolescents, and poss ibly medically compromised adults (with or without root caries), their contribution on a community basis cannot readily be compared with tha t of water or salt fluoridation. Although fluoride tablets have been h eld responsible for an increase in fluorosis prevalence, data which we re assessed blind now exist to show that a daily dosage of 0.25 mg flu oride from birth is not asssociated with dental fluorosis, if addition al fluoride products are not used injudiciously over the same period.