Acceptance and awareness of southeastern and western private practice pediatric dentists of fluoride-free toothpastes: a survey study

Abstract

The American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry (AAPD) affirms that the use of fluoride, as an adjunct in the prevention of caries, is safe and effective. The AAPD encourages dentists, other healthcare providers, and parents to optimize fluoride exposures to reduce the risk of caries and to enhance the remineralization of affected teeth. However, there is resistance amongst patients towards fluoride overexposure and despite there being research on other effective remineralizing agents, most pediatric dentists primarily cater their practice to fluoride-based products. The objective of the study is to survey pediatric dentists’ acceptance and awareness of fluoride-free remineralizing agents. A listserv of the southeastern and western private practice pediatric dentists was obtained from the AAPD consisting of 6490 email addresses. A questionnaire consisting of 15 questions was sent to each address using Qualtrics. Different trends in fluoride-free acceptance and awareness were seen based on region of practice, region of training and age of practitioner. Region of practice, residency training and age can be contributing factors toward fluoride-free remineralizing agent opinion. The data gathered trends towards western-trained pediatric dentists are more likely to recommend a fluoride-free toothpaste than a southeastern-trained dentist.