The Impact of Using Fluoride in Pediatric Dentistry: A Systematic Review

Abstract

Background: Dental caries is a global health problem affecting dental health in children due to an imbalance, between time, the interaction between cariogenic bacteria in dental plaque and fermentable carbohydrates. Based on one study, it was stated that globally, 621 million children had untreated dental caries in primary teeth and 2.4 billion people had untreated dental caries in permanent teeth. Therefore a comprehensive approach should be developed and applied in the preventive management of dental caries. Topical fluorides, such as varnish, NaF, SnF₂, and APF are used as preventive reagents because of their remineralization and antimicrobial properties.

Aim: The purpose of writing this systematic review is to find and explore the impact of fluoride use in the field of pediatric dentistry.

Methods: Data collection was carried out by searching the literature on article search sites, namely Google Search and Pubmed which were published from 2016 to 2020, searches were carried out in December 2020. Data searches were carried out systematically using the keywords fluoride in dentistry and fluoride in pediatric dentistry. After eliminating duplicated articles, the titles and abstracts of each article were analyzed on 264 articles which resulted in the exclusion of 58 articles. The full-text articles in the remaining 53 articles were re-analyzed and excluded as many as 43 articles and produced 15 articles then entered into the analysis.

Result:There were 15 articles discussing the impact of fluoride in the field of pediatric dentistry, both positive and negative impacts.

Conclusion: Fluoride is the gold standard agent in the prevention of dental caries in children, but irrational use of fluoride can cause some negative effects. Therefore it is recommended that you pay attention to several considerations in giving fluoride to children.