Aquafresh Science Academy

IADR Symposium 2009:
Getting the best from fluoride dentifrices – new insights on the importance of behaviour and design

Miami, USA, International Association for Dental Research Congress, April 2009

Symposium overview

Fluoride effectiveness from dentifrices is critically affected by both patient behaviour during brushing and the design of the product. This symposium discussed new evidence regarding the importance of brushing time and dose of dentifrice to fluoride performance, and the modes of action of fluoride that can drive good formulation design. These were considered in the context of the key role of fluoride in oral health, and real-world oral hygiene behaviour.

Professor Emeritus John Clarkson (Chair), Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland
Welcome and Introduction
Caries remains a major oral health issue of global relevance, typically focused in low socio-economic groups, often with limited access to professional care. John will introduce the symposium and highlight the continuing importance of daily-use fl uoride dentifrices as protection against caries. How are longer lifetimes and increased retention of dentition affecting caries experience? Is the decline of childhood caries in many countries countered by an increase in adult disease? How great a reduction in caries incidence might be achieved if oral hygiene habits improved on a population basis?

Professor Emeritus Colin Robinson, University of Leeds, UK
Critical factors in fluoride performance from dentifrices
Careful formulation of fluoride is critical for it to effectively protect its primary site of action, the plaque-covered tooth surface. This session considered the latest evidence on how fluoride penetrates plaque; is plaque a barrier to fluoride, or a reservoir? What is the role of fluoride delivered to the oral soft tissues? How do intra-oral conditions affect fluoride delivery from dentifrices? What can go wrong in the formulation of fluoride dentifrices; can ingredients bind fluoride or affect fluoride enamel interactions?

Professor Dom Zero, University of Indiana, US
The importance of brushing behaviour: effect of brushing time and dose on fluoride performance from dentifrices in situ
The purpose of this presentation was to present the results of recent clinical work that demonstrates the importance of brushing time and dose of dentifrice as key parameters of fluoride effectiveness. These parameters include fluoride uptake to soft and hard tissues in the oral cavity, clearance from oral reservoirs after brushing, and enamel surface microhardness in situ. The relevance of these results to potential caries prevention benefits was discussed.

Professor Ruth Freeman, University of Dundee, UK
Improving compliance: understanding and encouraging patient motivation
In order to successfully change behaviour, the benefits of a better oral hygiene regimen need to be framed in a tangible and appealing manner.Together with the importance of understanding patient motivation and barriers to behaviour change, this session explored how our attitude to oral health drives our oral hygiene practices, and how this changes with age.

Ann Battrell, American Dental Hygienists’ Association, US
Translation from clinical and behavioural science into preventative general practice
Development of effective strategies to improve oral hygiene behaviour in patients will rely on a combination of our understanding of both fluoride science and human motivation. This presentation considered the wider context of the learnings presented in this symposium, and how they may be effectively communicated to patients.