Oral fluoride retention following various topical application techniques in children.

Eight child volunteers received routine APF gel topical fluoride applications using four different application techniques. Each child received a total of four topical fluoride applications, and all applications were separated by at least one wk. The amounts of fluoride applied, recovered from the mouth, and retained in the mouth were calculated for each treatment. Tray systems with some form of absorptive liner resulted in significantly less oral-retained fluoride after the four-minute application procedure (p less than .01). The value of patient expectoration following topical fluoride treatment was also evaluated, and was a significant adjunct in reducing the net oral-retained fluoride dose in each instance (p less than .01).