Assessment of total and soluble fluoride content in commercial dentifrices and mouthwashes available in the Indian market: An in vitro study

Abstract

Introduction: Dental caries is the most common dental problem across the globe. Due to the increase in the use of refined sugars and lack of fluoride exposure, dental caries is becoming a serious issue for public health. The present study was conducted to determine the total fluoride (TF) concentration and soluble fluoride concentration in different dentifrices and mouthwashes available in the Indian market. Materials and Methods: Ion-specific electrode and fluoride ion metre were used to determine the soluble fluoride, as well as the TF concentration of seven dentifrices and five mouthwashes, and the findings were recorded in particle per million of fluoride. Descriptive statistic was used, and mean ± standard deviation of TF and soluble fluoride content of dentifrices and mouthwashes were reported. Results: Nine samples contained sodium fluoride and three samples contained sodium monofluorophosphate Na MFP as the fluoride compound. The TF and soluble fluoride levels showed variations from the fluoride concentration mentioned on the packaging. Conclusions: This study found that the concentration of total soluble fluoride and TF was lower than the fluoride level mentioned on the packaging.