Sodium fluoride (oral route, dental route, oromucosal route)

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Fluoride has been found to be helpful in reducing the number of cavities in the teeth. It is usually present naturally in drinking water. However, some areas of the country do not have a high enough level in the water to prevent cavities. To make up for this, extra fluoride may be added to the diet. Some children may require both dietary fluoride and topical fluoride treatments by the dentist. Use of a fluoride toothpaste or rinse may be helpful as well. Taking extra oral fluoride does not replace good dental habits. These include eating a good diet, brushing and flossing the teeth often, and having regular dental checkups. Fluoride may also be used for other conditions as determined by your doctor. This medicine is available only with a prescription. For good health, it is important that you eat a balanced and varied diet. Follow carefully any diet program your health care professional may recommend. For your specific dietary vitamin and/or mineral needs, ask your health care professional for a list of appropriate foods. If you think that you are not getting enough vitamins and/or minerals in your diet, you may choose to take a dietary supplement. People get needed fluoride from fish, including the bones, tea, and drinking water that has fluoride added to it. Food that is cooked in water containing fluoride or in Teflon-coated pans also provides fluoride. However, foods cooked in aluminum pans provide less fluoride. The daily amount of fluoride needed is defined in several different ways. There is no RDA or RNI for fluoride. Daily recommended intakes for fluoride are generally defined as follows: Remember: This product is available in the following dosage forms:

In deciding to use a medicine, the risks of taking the medicine must be weighed against the good it will do. This is a decision you and your doctor will make. For this medicine, the following should be considered: Tell your doctor if you have ever had any unusual or allergic reaction to this medicine or any other medicines. Also tell your health care professional if you have any other types of allergies, such as to foods, dyes, preservatives, or animals. For non-prescription products, read the label or package ingredients carefully. Problems in children have not been reported with intake of normal daily recommended amounts. Doses of sodium fluoride that are too large or are taken for a long time may cause bone problems and teeth discoloration in children. Problems in older adults have not been reported with intake of normal daily recommended amounts. Older people are more likely to have joint pain, kidney problems, or stomach ulcers which may be made worse by taking large doses of sodium fluoride. You should check with your health care professional. Studies in women suggest that this medication poses minimal risk to the infant when used during breastfeeding. Although certain medicines should not be used together at all, in other cases two different medicines may be used together even if an interaction might occur. In these cases, your doctor may want to change the dose, or other precautions may be necessary. Tell your healthcare professional if you are taking any other prescription or nonprescription (over-the-counter [OTC]) medicine. Certain medicines should not be used at or around the time of eating food or eating certain types of food since interactions may occur. Using alcohol or tobacco with certain medicines may also cause interactions to occur. The following interactions have been selected on the basis of their potential significance and are not necessarily all-inclusive. Using this medicine with any of the following may cause an increased risk of certain side effects but may be unavoidable in some cases. If used together, your doctor may change the dose or how often you use this medicine, or give you special instructions about the use of food, alcohol, or tobacco. The presence of other medical problems may affect the use of this medicine. Make sure you tell your doctor if you have any other medical problems, especially: