EFFECT ON DENTAL CARIES OF A DENTIFRICE CONTAINING STANNOUS FLUORIDE AND DICALCIUM PHOSPHATE

¹ Indiana University, Bloomington, Ind.

After 6 months and one year of unsupervised use of a dentifrice containing stannous fluoride and dicalcium phosphate as the polishing agent, no significant reductions in the dental caries rates were found. Similarly, when both sodium fluoride and stannous gluconate were added to a dentifrice containing heat-treated calcium orthophosphate, no significant reduction in dental caries was found. These data suggest that not only is the fluoride compound of importance in determining the anticariogenic effectiveness of fluoride dentifrices, but also the nature of the polishing agent deserves important consideration.