Sir, this morning I had a new patient who presented having not been to the dentist for a long time. He explained that he had 'very bad teeth' and wanted to get them sorted out, but one of the main reasons for his bad teeth was his allergy to fluoride. A little cynical at first, I spent a while talking to him about this allergy. As a child he had a history of multiple collapses and after extensive testing it was decided that he had a severe allergy to the fluoride in his toothpaste. He has since avoided it at all costs and as a result is only able to clean his teeth with salt and some mouthwashes. When buying new oral hygiene products to try he is advised to send them for testing to check that they are fluoride free.

Clinically he presents with very few teeth and those that are left are very heavily restored. Interestingly enough radiographically there was no new caries.

According to the patient there are only around seven other such individuals in the UK who have this allergy to fluoride. My question to other practitioners is has anyone else come across this condition? Are there any suitable guidelines/products that anyone could recommend?