Children whose permanent and baby teeth are treated with fluoride varnish see a noticeable reduction in decayed, missing, and filled tooth surfaces, according to a new systematic review in Cochrane Reviews (July 11, 2013).
The review updates the first Cochrane review of fluoride varnishes for preventing dental caries in children and adolescents, which was published in 2002.
For this update, the Cochrane Oral Health Group found 22 trials published between 1975 and 2012 in which a total of 12,455 children were randomized to treatment with either fluoride varnish or placebo/no treatment. Study duration ranged from one to five years among the included trials (12 of these lasted two years).
Thirteen of the trials looked at children and adolescents with permanent teeth, while 10 examined the effect of fluoride varnish on first or baby teeth. According to the Cochrane reviewers, in the 13 trials involving permanent teeth, those treated with fluoride varnish experienced on average a 43% reduction in decayed, missing, and filled tooth surfaces.
In the 10 involving baby teeth, the evidence suggested a 37% reduction in decayed, missing, and filled tooth surfaces.
They found little information concerning possible adverse effects or acceptability of treatment.
"The conclusions of this updated review remain the same as those when it was first published," the reviewers wrote. "The review suggests a substantial caries-inhibiting effect of fluoride varnish in both permanent and primary teeth; however, the quality of the evidence was assessed as moderate, as it included mainly high-risk-of-bias studies, with considerable heterogeneity."
