Total and soluble fluoride content in commercial dentifrices in Chile

Abstract

Objective. Regardless of the total amount of fluoride (F) in a dentifrice, only the soluble fraction presents anti-caries activity and its concentration must be above 1000 ppm. No information regarding the quality of F in Chilean toothpastes is available. The aim of this study, therefore, was to determine the F concentration present in commercially-available toothpastes in Chile. Materials and methods: Eighteen toothpastes of five different brands were tested, each purchased from three different chain drugstores in Chile. For each toothpaste, total, total soluble and ionic F concentrations were assessed and expressed as ppm of F (μg F/g). Results. Among the dentifrices evaluated, 77.8% contained NaF (sodium fluoride), 16.7% MFP (monofluorphosphate) and 5.6% both types of F salts; 77.2% of the dentifrices showed similar total F content to that declared by the manufacturer in the labeling with only five with lower concentration than expected, beyond a 5% disagreement tolerance range. Total soluble F ranged from 958.8–1496.3 ppm (mean ± SD: 1270.5 ± 183.7). Five toothpastes showed lower total soluble F than total F. Only one toothpaste showed soluble salt levels below the recommended dose for this type of dentifrice. Conclusion: Most Chilean dentifrices evaluated contained soluble F within the range of 1000–1500 ppm and, therefore, may have anti-caries activity.