Fluoride Varnish Reducing Early Childhood Caries, Research Shows
The New York Times and the Registered Dental Hygienist have reported new evidence supporting the effectiveness of fluoride varnish in preventing early childhood caries, based on the findings of a study published in the Journal of Dental Research1.
The two-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 in the San Francisco area. The children ranged in age from 6 months to 3½ years, and all were required to have at least four erupted maxillary incisors. Each child participating in the study received oral health counseling from their parents or caregivers, and 202 children remained in the study for the duration. 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 four times as likely to have cavities than children who received fluoride varnish at six-month intervals.
Fluoride varnish is a topical agent containing a high concentration of fluoride (5 percent sodium fluoride (NaF) or 22,600 ppm of fluoride) in a resin or synthetic base. Professionally applied fluoride varnishes were first developed in the 1960s, and have been in use for over 30 years.
Source: ADA.org
1Fluoride Varnish Efficacy in Preventing Early Childhood Caries. Journal of Dental Research 85(2):172-176, 2006.
Fluoride varnishes, comonly known as Duraflor, may be useful in very young children as cavity preventative agents. Varnish is painted directly onto teeth without the need of a dry field, unlike pit & fissure sealant which requires thorough drying through the use of rubber dam, something kids may not want. Thus fluoride varnish can be a good alternative for sealant, especially for a very young child where the placement of a rubber dam in the mouth may be difficult. However, varnish only lasts hours in contrast to sealant which can last for months.
Currently FDA (Food and Drug Administration) approves the use of fluoride varnish as cavity liners and for the treatment of hypersensitive teeth, but not for caries prevention.
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