Pediatric and general dentists' knowledge and use of fluoride varnish

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to determine how often and for what reasons pediatric and general dentists use fluoride varnish. The opinions of general and pediatric dentists regarding the State of Illinois permitting pediatricians to apply fluoride varnish were also investigated.

METHODS: The study consisted of a mailed survey sent to all pediatric dentists and a random sample of general dentists in the Cook County area who were members of the Illinois State Dental Society. A telephone follow-up was conducted two weeks later for those who had not responded.

RESULTS: A total of 244 out of 463 general dentists and 36 out of 58 pediatric dentists responded to the survey for response rates of 53% and 62% respectively. 95% of pediatric and 83% of general dentists were familiar with fluoride varnishes (p<.05). 66% of pediatric dentists applied fluoride varnish at least "regularly" compared to 24% of general dentists (Mann-Whitney U, p<.000). Pediatric dentists were more aware of pediatricians applying fluoride varnish on infants during well-baby visits (72% vs 36%, p<.000), and less likely to disapprove of it (13% vs 49%, p=.001)than were general dentists.

CONCLUSION: To minimize disparities in caries rates, one option is to obtain early (~age 1) dental visits for counseling and preventive treatments such as fluoride varnish application for at-risk children. Dentists and physicians are both possible sources of early fluoride varnish application. These data suggest that general and possibly pediatric dentists could apply fluoride varnish more than they do. Furthermore, the lack of awareness and/or lack of support by general dentists for pediatricians providing the treatment indicates that better publicity for this program is warranted.