Total Fluoride Intake by 27 to 34 Month-old Venezuelan Infants

Objective: The purpose of this study was to determine the total fluoride (F) intake from diet and fluoridated dentifrice by Venezuelan infants 25-32 months of age consuming fluoridated salt (180-220 mgF/Kg). Methods: all participants were drawn from children attending 10 public day cares centers in Caracas (water F= 0.12 mg/L). The study sample was comprised of 87 children, 47(54.02%) males and 40 (45.97%) females. Total fluoride intake from diet (food and beverages) was determined by the “duplicate plate technique”, and fluoride intake from dentifrice was determined by difference after weighing the toothbrush before and after the placing of toothpaste by the teachers on the brushes. Samples, including food, beverages, dentifrices and recovery solutions were analyzed using the microdiffusion method of Taves (1968), as modified by Rojas-Sanchez et al. (1999) using a fluoride ion selective electrode. Results: The mean total F intake for the study population was 819.4±236.8 (SD) µg/day and the amount of F ingested from food, beverages and dentifrice were 255.0 ± 154.6(SD); 100.1 ± 64.6(SD) and 462.3 ± 481.9 (SD) µg/day, respectively. However, 8 children (9.1%) did not use fluoridated toothpaste as a part of their daily oral hygiene routines. Their mean total fluoride intake from diet was 254.3± 95.2 (SD) µg/day. There were no statistically significant differences among gender (p>0.05). Conclusions: Results suggest that fluoridated dentifrices are an important source of fluoride in this population; therefore, toothbrushing should be supervised to eliminate any risk of developing dental fluorosis. This study was sponsored by the CDCH-UCV and the Colgate-Palmolive Company