Message Boards
Today's Active Topics Browse Forum Categories My Recent Activity My Messages Private Groups My Marked Threads My Subscriptions
Today's Active Images Today's Active Polls Most Active Topics Global Townie Map Advanced Message Board Search Message Board Terms of Use

Fluoride Varnish Study

Start Discussion
FLUORIDE VARNISH HELPS PREVENT TOOTH DECAY IN VERY YOUNG CHILDREN
Posted: February 1, 2006
Fluoride varnish, a dental preventive treatment, reduces the incidence
of early childhood tooth decay in combination with dental health
counseling for parents, according to a study by investigators at the
UCSF School of Dentistry.

The investigators examined cavity-free infants and young children,
primarily from low-income Chinese or Hispanic families in San Francisco.
All families received counseling on dental health, and children were
randomized into three groups: those receiving fluoride varnish twice per
year, those receiving it once per year, and those not receiving it at
all. Of the initial 376 children enrolled, 280 completed the study.

According to study findings, children who did not receive any fluoride
varnish were more than twice as likely to develop tooth decay as the
children who were assigned to the annual fluoride varnish group.
Children who did not receive fluoride varnish were nearly four times
more likely to develop tooth decay than those assigned to receive it
twice per year (four treatments over two years).

Study results are published in the February issue of the Journal of
Dental Research, the journal of the International Association of Dental
Research. The results are posted online at http://jdr.iadrjournals.org.

There are two important points that parents should be aware of as a
result of this study, said Jane Weintraub, DDS, MPH, Lee Hysan Professor
at the UCSF School of Dentistry and principal investigator of the study.
"First, the results support the use of fluoride varnish to prevent tooth
decay in very young children. Second, the results support parents
bringing children for their first dental visit at age one when they are
getting their first teeth."

"Fluoride varnish is relatively inexpensive, easy to brush onto a
child's teeth, and can be part of a positive first dental visit to help
prevent tooth decay," Weintraub said. "In contrast, when very young
children get cavities, it is difficult for them to sit still for dental
treatment. Often, young children needing many fillings receive care in
the operating room, at great expense to their family and with the
additional risks posed by general anesthesia. We now have an easy,
low-cost way to keep teeth healthy."

Fluoride varnish is a resin containing concentrate fluoride that is
brushed on teeth the same way that nail polish is painted onto nails.
"Nail polish makes nails look good; fluoride varnish helps keep teeth
looking good by preventing cavities," Weintraub said. It is meant to
enhance the potential therapeutic benefit of fluoride by keeping the
tooth enamel in contact with it.

Previously it has been shown to help prevent tooth decay for older
school-age children who have their permanent teeth. According to the
investigators, this was the first randomized study of children as young
as six months of age, and it shows the efficacy of fluoride varnish to
prevent tooth decay in young children's primary (baby) teeth.

The study was conducted at the San Francisco General Hospital Family
Dental Center and the San Francisco Department of Public Health's
Chinatown Public Health Center. The average age of the children enrolled
in the study was 1.8 years old, with ages ranging from six months to 44
months at the start of the study. In addition to dental-health
counseling, treatment with fluoride varnish and examinations for tooth
decay, at each visit the children's parents were asked about adverse
events or safety concerns; none associated with the fluoride varnish
treatment were discovered.

The children who participated in the study were primarily from
low-income, dentally underserved backgrounds. This made them well suited
as participants for the study, according to Weintraub. "Statewide
studies have shown that children from low-income Hispanic and Asian
populations in California are at high risk for tooth decay," Weintraub
said.

The study was supported by the UCSF Comprehensive Oral Health Research
Center of Discovery, UCSF Center to Address Disparities in Children's
Oral Health, National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research,
National Center for Minority Health and Health Disparities, and NIH
Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research.

UCSF is a leading university that consistently defines health care
worldwide by conducting advanced biomedical research, educating graduate
and professional students in the life sciences, and providing complex
patient care.
Views: 16
Start Discussion
Sponsors
Site Menu
Message Boards Articles Continuing Education Podcasts Blogs Classifieds News Events Townie® Poll Ebooks Townie Choice Awards
Company Info
Contact Us Advertise With Us Howard Farran DDS, MBA Policies and Agreements
Site Help
Sally Gross, Member Services Specialist
Phone: +1-480-445-9710
Email: sally@farranmedia.com
©2025 Hygienetown, a division of Farran Media • All Rights Reserved
9633 S. 48th Street Suite 200 • Phoenix, AZ 85044 • Phone:+1-480-598-0001 • Fax:+1-480-598-3450