Fluoride supplement use by children in fluoridated communities.

OBJECTIVES

The purpose of this study is to describe patterns of inappropriate fluoride supplementation among a sample of Connecticut schoolchildren living in optimally fluoridated areas.

METHODS

Fluoride exposure histories were obtained via a written questionnaire with a response rate of 89 percent and an overall reliability of 87 percent agreement.

RESULTS

A total of 575 subjects lived the entire first eight years of life in a fluoridated community. Of these, 26.1 percent had a history of inappropriate supplementation sometime during that period, including 31.8 percent of subjects with mild to moderate fluorosis and 22.8 percent of subjects without fluorosis. There were no significant supplement history differences related to current age, sex, or socioeconomic status. Overall, 71 percent of these subjects used only vitamins with fluoride, while only 14 percent were reported to have used fluoride supplements alone. Sixty-eight percent of the subjects who were supplemented while breast feeding, continued supplementation after cessation of breast feeding.

CONCLUSIONS

These findings reinforce the need for health professionals to be targeted more aggressively at the school, residency, and private practice levels to better promote a full understanding of the proper utilization of fluoride supplements.