- Prevention of Dental Caries in children
- Use when water supply has inadequate fluoride
-
Osteoporosis Prevention
- No longer recommended (previously recommended for adults at risk at 25 mg daily)
- Narrow Therapeutic Index: Too high dosing effects
- In areas with very high fluoride water concentration:
- Pregnant women and children should use bottled water
- Well water
- Fluoride is naturally occurring in soil, rock and water, and varies widely by location
- Private well water is not regulated and requires testing to determine fluoride levels (which may be high)
- Fluoride ion levels in drinking water
- Parts Per Million (ppm): 1.0 ppm = 1 mg/Liter
- Sodium Fluoride 2.2 mg contains 1 mg of fluoride ions
- Ages 6 months to 3 years old
- Local Water Fluoride <0.3 ppm: Fluoride 0.25 mg qd
- Local Water Fluoride 0.3-0.7 ppm: No Fluoride
- Local Water Fluoride >0.7 ppm: No Fluoride
- Ages 3 to 6 years old
- Local Water Fluoride <0.3 ppm: Fluoride 0.50 mg qd
- Local Water Fluoride 0.3-0.7 ppm: Fluoride 0.25 mg qd
- Local Water Fluoride >0.7 ppm: No Fluoride Supplement
- Ages 6 to 16 years old
- Local Water Fluoride <0.3 ppm: Fluoride 1.00 mg qd
- Local Water Fluoride 0.3-0.7 ppm: Fluoride 0.50 mg qd
- Local Water Fluoride >0.7 ppm: No Fluoride
- Prevents Dental Caries
- Initially thought to prevent osteoporotic Fractures if started early and in low doses
- Found to increase bone density 10% per year
- However resulting bone is not thought to be as strong, and may not confer advantage in Osteoporosis Prevention
- Drops: 0.125 mg, 0.25 mg and 0.5 mg per dropper
- Chewable tablets: 0.5 mg, 1 mg
- Tablets: 1 mg
- Multi-Vitamins (Tri-vi-flor and poly-vi-flor)
- Available as drops and chewable tablets
- Write specifically for older, generic formulation (another pharmaceutical switch to re-patent an old drug)
- Fluoride varnish (applied at dental visits, in addition to oral Fluoride Supplementation as needed)
- Fluoride varnish is also applied to teeth at each pediatric dental visits after Tooth Eruption (6 months)
- See Oral Health in Children
- Sievers (2016) Am Fam Physician 93(9):743-4 [PubMed]
- My Water's Fluoride (CDC)