Prevention of tooth decay: fluoride no longer recipe

Health. Experts who have long defended the treatment in infants come back.
Fluoride is not a panacea, dental hygiene and regular care are the best prevention of carie.Les experts from the French Agency for the Safety of Health Products (AFSSAPS) have settled in the heart. They return to their 2002 recommendations on the use of fluoride in preventing tooth decay in children. In summary, fluoride given to all small at birth, it's over. Place on a case by case basis.

Treatment before the first tooth is more in tune with the times. Professor Bertrand DIQUET Pharmacovigilance Center of the University Hospital of Angers, headed the working group behind the new recommendations. "Most experts now agree that there is no legitimacy to prescribe fluoride before the appearance of the teeth," he says.

Only for those at risk
Result: a big step backwards. The 2002 recommendations included the systematic prescription of fluoride orally (drops, tablets) from birth to 2 years. And today, it now seems unnecessary before the age of 6 months, "the AFSSaPS.

Now, only children who are at risk of decay will be treated, experts indicate. According to Professor Michel Goldberg, the Descartes University in Paris, "about 15% of small-Cario be likely." The problem is to detect. It is in most cases of children from families where hygiene is poor, with excessive consumption of sugary drinks and snacks, which poses serious problems.

To find cavities in small must look at the teeth ... Mom! Often, these children are infected by their mothers, themselves decayed, "says the specialist. "They will transmit the bacteria to their children by embracing, for example. That is why, with a small cavity is mother is at high risk of decay. " The fluoride treatment can be given at 6 months, according to a personal assessment of all sources of fluoride (drinking water, salt ...).

The role of food
The best remedy to prevent cavities remains of course a good brushing twice a day for all children. However, brushing teeth and food intake of fluoride are considered adequate for all children. As stated Dr. Anne Castot, Head of Service of the assessment and monitoring of risk and drug information to AFSSaPS, "plus a healthy and balanced diet, brushing twice a day with a fluoride toothpaste remains the basis for effective prevention. And it is important that parents supervise brushing their child up to 6 years. " In any case, do not hesitate to ask your doctor or dentist.