Policy on Use of Fluoride

Policy statement

The AAPD:

• recognizes that drinking fluoridated water and brushing with fluoridated toothpaste twice daily are the most effective methods in reducing dental caries prevalence in children.
• encourages toothbrushing with appropriate amounts of fluoride toothpaste twice daily for all children.
• endorses and encourages the adjustment of fluoride content of public drinking water supplies to an optimal level (0.7 ppm) where feasible.
• encourages professionally-applied fluoride treatments for all individuals at risk for dental caries.
• supports the delegation of topical fluoride application to auxiliary dental personnel or other trained allied health professionals by prescription or order of a dentist after a comprehensive oral examination and caries-risk assessment or by a physician after a dental screening and caries-risk assessment have been performed.
• endorses the use of fluoride supplements according to established American Dental Association⁹ , American Academy of Pediatrics¹⁰, and AAPD¹¹ recommendations when fluoride levels in municipal drinking water are suboptimal and after consideration of sources of dietary fluoride and the caries risk of the child.
• encourages dental providers to talk to parents about the benefits of fluoride and to proactively address fluoride hesitance through chairside education.
• encourages dental team members to seek opportunities to provide evidence-based community education on the safe and economical dental caries-preventive benefits of fluoride through municipal water fluoridation.
• encourages the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to require food and beverage nutrition labels to include fluoride content. In the meantime, AAPD encourages manufacturers of all beverages and infant formula to include fluoride concentration with the nutritional content on food labels.
• encourages dental professionals to inform medical peers of the potential of dental fluorosis when excess fluoride is ingested prior to enamel maturation.
• encourages continued research on safe and effective fluoride products.