N.B. Only the previous two issues of the cover page are available here.  Abstracts from earlier issues can be viewed in Archives. 

January - 2011

Dietary fluoride supplements should be prescribed only to high caries risk children and whose drinking water is deficient in fluoride

• Evidence-based clinical recommendations from the American Dental Association for prescribing dietary fluoride supplements.  It was noted that although the topical effect of fluorides on controlling caries was predominant, the maximum benefit was likely achieved when an individual received both topical and systemic fluorides. 
• Evidence from systematic review of randomized controlled trials showed that dietary fluoride supplements reduced the incidence of dental caries in primary and permanent teeth.  Dietary fluoride supplements were not recommended for children at low risk for caries.  Dietary fluoride supplements should be prescribed for high caries risk children and should be taken daily to maximize its caries preventive benefit.
• The dietary fluoride supplement dosages prescribed are based on the level of fluoride in the drinking water and the age of the child.  No dietary fluoride supplementation should be prescribed for children below 6 months of age irrespective of the level of fluoride concentration in the drinking water.  When the fluoride concentration in drinking water is less than 0.3 parts per million (ppm), the dietary fluoride dosages are as follows: 6 months to 3 years = 0.25 milligrams/day; 3 to 6 years = 0.50 mg/day; and 6 to 16 years = 1.00 mg/day.  When the fluoride concentration in drinking water is between 0.3 to 0.6 ppm, the dietary fluoride dosages are as follows: 6 months to 3 years = None; 3 to 6 years = 0.25 mg/day; and 6 to 16 years = 0.50 mg/day.  No dietary fluoride supplements should be prescribed when the fluoride concentration in drinking water is greater than 0.6 ppm irrespective of the age. 

        (J Am Dent Assoc 2010; 141:1480-1489)

December - 2010

Children colonized by mutans streptococci at 3 years of age had higher caries experience at 15 years of age

• Clinical trial of first-time mothers and their children focusing on early maternal caries control (children were 6 months old and before the eruption of their first tooth) and considered the time of colonization of mutans streptococci (MS) as a caries risk factor.  The intervention consisted of treatment of open carious lesions and preventive measures including dietary counseling, professional tooth cleaning, fluoride treatment, and oral hygiene instructions.  Earlier reports from this study had shown that reduction of MS in highly-colonized mothers during primary teeth emergence prevented or delayed MS colonization in their children.  The intervention ceased when the children turned three years old.  Since then the children received regular dental care based upon dentist assessment of their individual needs. 
• At 15 years of age, 72 children received clinical and radiographic examinations.  The positive influence of early maternal caries control was seen even at 15 years of age in their children with either non-detectable or lower levels of MS and lower caries prevalence.  Children who had not been colonized by MS at 3 years of age, irrespective of their study group, showed lower MS levels and caries lesions at 15 years of age as compared to those who were colonized by MS at 3 years of age. 

       (Caries Res 2010; 44:453-458)