New evidence supports the effectiveness of fluoride varnish in preventing early childhood caries, according to the Journal of Dental Research. The 2-year study from the University of California-San Francisco (UCSF) was a randomized, controlled trial that evaluated caries incidence in 376 caries-free children from low-income, primarily Hispanic or Chinese families, aged from 6 months to 3.5 years. The study found that children receiving no fluoride varnish were more than twice as likely to have dental caries as those who had annual varnish treatments, and nearly 4 times as likely to have cavities than children who received fluoride varnish at 6-month intervals. The ADA considers fluoride varnish to be safe and effective as part of a caries prevention program that includes caries diagnosis, risk assessment, and regular dental care. The US Food and Drug Administration has cleared these products as medical devices to be used as cavity liners and for the treatment of hypersensitive teeth, but has not yet cleared them for marketing in the US as caries-preventive agents. However, the results of this recent study add to the increasing evidence supporting the effectiveness of fluoride varnish in caries prevention. This study supports the recommendation that children have their first dental visit within 6 months of eruption of the first tooth and no later than 12 months of age.
(Source: Science in the News, American Dental Association Web site, ada.org, accessed March 30, 2006)
