Milk fluoridation for the prevention of dental caries

  • J. Jánóczy,
  • P. E. Petersen &
  • A. J. Rugg-Gunn
World Health Organisation price $40.00; pp 196 ISBN 9789241547758 | ISBN: 978-9-2415-4775-8

This 2009 World Health Organisation paperback uses numerous references from previous studies and articles from across the world in its 186 pages. It is priced at £28.00.

The publication aims to describe the justification for milk fluoridation as an effective public health measure for the prevention of dental caries. It is split into eight well structured chapters, with a variety of authors. These chapters document the importance of milk and fluoride in the diet, the history of milk fluoridation including early studies and their findings in relation to the prevention of caries, the practical aspects of milk fluoridation and the monitoring and evaluation of such programmes.

The chapters which I found to be of particular interest included 'Milk, nutrition and human health', which provides some useful information which could be passed on to patients regarding the importance of including milk in the diet. The 'Basic science studies' chapter, which begins by explaining the mechanisms by which fluoride can be incorporated into milk and how fluoride is beneficial to oral health, the metabolism and excretion of the product, includes numerous studies to validate the intra-oral response to milk (and water) fluoridation. The chapter conclusions in this book are excellent, and are able to convey the majority of the information in a concise and informative manner.

Although the text is well written and the information provided factual, I believe its target audience is limited. It is likely to be of very little interest to the general dental practitioner (GDP). The information which is of interest to the GDP is, unfortunately, drowned by excessive detail and statistical study. The general layout of this book is plain without pictures and despite tables being included to support the text, they are complicated and likely to be found unappealing. I believe the material included in this text is likely to be limited to the interest of specialists in public health, who may be considering introducing milk fluoridation programmes. For this target audience, I believe this book is very well suited and informative. Any information or details which are lacking in the text can easily be obtained from further reading of the numerous references provided.