Use of fluoride during pregnancy
Administration of fluoride supplements to pregnant patients in an effort to benefit the teeth of the offspring has been evaluated in several clinical studies. Although the collective findings of these studies indicate a possible benefit to the primary teeth of the offspring, the evidence is not sufficiently conclusive to warrant recommending prescribing fluoride. The question of whether the fluoride ingested by expectant mothers living in an area with fluoridated water will lead to increased caries resistance in the primary teeth of the offspring cannot be definitely answered because the evidence is conflicting. The data have failed to show any difference in the caries resistance of the primary teeth of children born just before the fluoridation of a water supply and children born afterward who were exposed to fluoride both prenatally and postnatally.
A recent study provides strong evidence that the children of mothers with poor self-rated oral health are more likely to grow up to have poorer oral health than those of mothers with good self-rated oral health. Maternal self-rated oral health when children are young appears to be a valid representation of the intricacies of the shared genetic and environmental factors that contribute to oral health throughout the life-course. Unfavorable maternal self-rated oral health should be regarded as a risk indicator for poor oral health among offspring later in life. Simple questions about maternal oral health should form part of a preliminary and inexpensive assessment of a child’s future oral diseases risk (on both clinical and public health grounds). In addition, it is important that mothers are told that their oral health can have an impact on their child’s oral health, and dentists should encourage mothers of young children to receive dental care.
