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U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion

Fluoride Gels for Preventing Dental Caries in Children and Adolescents

About this resource:

Systematic Review

Source: The Cochrane Collaborative

Last Reviewed: July 2015

Workgroups: Oral Health Workgroup

In this Cochrane systemic review, the Cochrane Collaborative found that fluoride gel can reduce tooth decay in children and adolescents. The review included trials that compared fluoride gel with a placebo or no treatment for children (ages 2 to 15 years). Researchers found that after 1 to 4 years, fluoride gel can reduce tooth decay in both permanent and baby teeth. They found little information about unwanted or harmful effects from accidental swallowing of fluoride gel, which suggests more research is needed to study these effects.

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Objectives related to this resource (2)

Reduce the proportion of children and adolescents with lifetime tooth decay — OH‑01
Little or no detectable change
Reduce the proportion of children and adolescents with active and untreated tooth decay — OH‑02
Improving

Suggested Citation

1.

Marinho  VCC, Worthington  HV, Walsh  T, Chong  L-Y. (2015). Fluoride gels for preventing dental caries in children and adolescents. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2015 (6). DOI: 10.1002/14651858.CD002280.pub2