Estimation of fluoride absorption from swallowed fluoride toothpastes

Area of Science:

• Dental research
• Fluoride toxicology
• Pharmacokinetics

Background:

• Fluoride toothpastes are widely used for caries prevention.
• Understanding systemic fluoride absorption is crucial for safety and efficacy assessments.
• Different toothpaste formulations may influence fluoride bioavailability.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare systemic fluoride absorption from various toothpaste formulations.
• To evaluate the impact of different fluoride sources (sodium fluoride and sodium monofluorophosphate) and carriers on absorption.
• To assess the utility of salivary fluoride monitoring for estimating systemic absorption.

Main Methods:

• Eight adults ingested five different toothpastes containing 1,000 ppm fluoride.
• Fluoride absorption was estimated by analyzing areas under salivary fluoride concentration-time curves.
• Toothpastes included chalk, dicalcium phosphate dihydrate, silica/alumina with sodium monofluorophosphate, and silica with sodium fluoride.

Main Results:

• Systemic fluoride absorption varied significantly among the tested toothpastes.
• Fluoride absorption was statistically significantly lower when using dicalcium phosphate dihydrate toothpaste.
• No significant differences in absorption were observed for other tested formulations.

Conclusions:

• Dicalcium phosphate dihydrate may reduce systemic fluoride absorption compared to other common toothpaste bases.
• Salivary fluoride level monitoring is a viable non-invasive method for assessing systemic fluoride absorption.
• Formulation excipients can influence the bioavailability of fluoride from toothpastes.