Ways to improve/increase appropriate use of dietary fluorides

Dietary fluoride supplements are not now being prescribed appropriately by health care providers, an example of the slow rate of acceptance of an effective caries preventive regimen available for nearly a quarter-century. Industry, the American Dental Association Council of Dental Therapeutics, the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry, the American Association for Dental Research, the National Foundation of Dentistry for the Handicapped, the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, and the National Institute of Dental Research have all initiated or supported a variety of activities to educate health care providers on the use of fluoride supplements and developing educational materials for providers to use in educating the public. Barriers to appropriate use include the following factors: complexity of the dosage schedule; priority of preventive regimens in educational institutions; economic factors; and lack of public knowledge--clearly a barrier to their acceptance, appropriate use, and compliance. Dental school faculty have a responsibility, to both their students and the general public, to provide appropriate information about dietary fluoride supplements and their use. Emphasis should be placed on educating dental students on the best ways of achieving compliance in their patients. Federal agencies might join the ranks as well, along with the individual dentist, in educating all relevant groups and promoting health through disease prevention.