Estimated dietary fluoride intake for New Zealanders

Area of Science:

• Public Health Nutrition
• Dental Health
• Environmental Health

Background:

• Fluoride intake is crucial for dental caries prevention.
• Assessing population-level fluoride intake is essential for public health.
• Understanding fluoride sources (diet, water, toothpaste) informs risk assessment.

Purpose of the Study:

• To estimate fluoride intake from diet and toothpaste in New Zealand subpopulations.
• To identify population groups potentially at risk of high or low fluoride intake.
• To evaluate fluoride intake against established Adequate Intake (AI) and Upper Intake (UL) levels.

Main Methods:

• Utilized existing fluoride concentration and food consumption data.
• Estimated fluoride intake based on both non-fluoridated and fluoridated water supply scenarios.
• Incorporated data from national dietary surveys and simulated diets.

Main Results:

• Dietary fluoride intake was generally below the Upper Intake Level (UL) across all subpopulations.
• Fluoride intake from toothpaste use contributes to total intake.
• Many adults may have fluoride intake below the Adequate Intake (AI) for caries protection.

Conclusions:

• No population groups, except possibly infants (6-12 months) with fluoridated water and high-fluoride toothpaste, are at risk of exceeding the UL.
• A significant portion of the adult population may have insufficient fluoride intake for optimal caries prevention.
• Dietary staples, beverages, and drinking water fluoride levels are key drivers of fluoride intake.