Journal of Dental Research, Vol 75, 1451-1457, Copyright © 1996 by International & American Associations for Dental Research Online Journals
Total fluoride intake in children aged 3 to 4 years--a longitudinal study
N. Guha-Chowdhury, B. K. Drummond and A. C. Smillie
Department of Community Dental Health, School of Dentistry, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand.
Several previous studies using food consumption tables or diet records have
estimated that children aged 1 to 12 years resident in fluoridated (1 ppm)
areas receive, on average, between 0.05 and 0.07 mg fluoride/kg body weight
from foods and drinks alone. In this study, the duplicate-diet approach,
which is a more accurate method of determining nutrient intake, was used to
determine if levels of fluoride intake from foods and drinks are similar to
those estimated from food consumption tables or diet records. Duplicate
portions of all foods and drinks consumed over 24 hours by 66 children aged
3 to 4 years resident in fluoridated and low-fluoride areas of New Zealand
were collected on three separate days over a period of 12 months and
analyzed for fluoride. Fluoride intake from the use and ingestion of
toothpastes and fluoride supplements was also determined for each child. It
was hypothesized that the total amount of fluoride received by children in
low-fluoride areas from diet, toothpastes, and fluoride supplements was
similar to that received by children in fluoridated areas from diet and
toothpastes. The mean fluoride intake from foods and drinks alone in the
low-fluoride areas was 0.008 +/- 0.003 mg/kg body weight (0.15 +/- 0.06
mg/day; n = 34) and in the fluoridated areas was 0.019 +/- 0.009 mg/kg body
weight (0.36 +/- 0.17 mg/day; n = 32). The mean fluoride intake from foods
and drinks and toothpastes in the low-fluoride areas was 0.027 +/- 0.012
mg/kg body weight (0.49 +/- 0.25 mg/day) and in the fluoridated areas was
0.036 +/- 0.015 mg/kg body weight (0.68 +/- 0.27 mg/day). Fluoride intake
from diet alone did not exceed 0.04 mg/kg body weight (0.74 mg/day), and
fluoride intake from diet and toothpaste did not exceed 0.07 mg/kg body
weight (1.31 mg/day). The results suggest that levels of fluoride intake
from foods and drinks alone as estimated by the duplicate-diet approach are
much lower than previously estimated from food consumption tables or diet
records. It was calculated that if all children in the low-fluoride areas
were to take currently recommended dosages of fluoride tablets, which have
been based on dietary surveys and diet records, then the total fluoride
intake of some children in the low-fluoride areas would exceed that of
their counterparts in the fluoridated areas. The results suggest that
currently recommended dosages of fluoride tablets need to be further
reduced if dental fluorosis in children is to be avoided.
