The Canadian and American Academies of Pediatric Dentistry and Pediatrics promote the concept of a dental home by age one. This obviously implies the child is otherwise healthy with no history of birth defects, trauma or pain involving the oral cavity at an earlier age.

Recent studies cited in the report of the National Research Council (NRC), “Fluoride in Drinking Water: A Scientific Review of EPA’s Standards,” have raised the possibility that infants could receive a greater than optimal amount of fluoride through liquid concentrate or powdered baby formula that has been mixed with water containing fluoride during a time that their developing teeth may be susceptible to enamel fluorosis.

Patients and dentists often wonder what, if any, is the effect on bacterial levels when placing sealants over incipient carious lesions.

Fluoride supplements have been recommended for preventing caries for more than three decades. Are supplements effective in reducing caries in primary teeth? When are they most effective and what causative effects can one expect, if any?