Does flavoured dentifrice increase fluoride intake compared with regular toothpaste in children? A systematic review and meta‐analysis

Background Toothpaste manufacturers encourage through aggressive marketing strategies the overconsumption of fluoridated dentifrices. There are conflicting results regarding fluoride intake from toothpastes in children. Aim The aim of this systematic review and meta‐analysis was to determine whether dentifrice flavour increases fluoride ingestion by children. Design We included clinical trials on children that evaluated the use of flavoured dentifrice – FD vs regular dentifrice – RD to identify the fluoride intake. An electronic search was performed in PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, The Cochrane Library, LILACS/BBO, and grey literature followed by manual search. The methodological quality of the studies was assessed using the Cochrane Collaboration common scheme for bias and ROBINS‐I tool. Data were analysed in subgroups such as low (G1) and ordinary (G2) fluoride concentrations of dentifrices. We carried out heterogeneity and sensitive analyses. Results For G1, the fluoride intake from RD was significantly higher than from FD [standardised mean difference = −2.57 (−3.26, −1.89), P < 0.00001]. For G2, the fluoride ingestion from RD was significantly higher than from FD [mean difference = −0.00 (−0.00, −0.00), P = 0.02]. Conclusions There is evidence to support the null hypothesis that flavouring from dentifrice does not increase fluoride intake in young children.