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Milk is an important part of the human diet; after weaning, cow's milk (bovine milk) predominates and this chapter considers the effect of bovine milk on dental caries. Yoghurt, which is a milk product, is also considered here. Several published reviews have concluded that milk is of very low cariogenicity and may have some caries protective potential. For example, WHO reviewed the strength of the evidence in 2003 and concluded that a "decreased risk" of dental caries from milk was "possible." The evidence comes from several types of study: epidemiological studies (interventional and observational), animal experiments, plaque pH studies, and in vivo and in vitro enamel and dentine slab experiments. More recent observational epidemiological studies have adjusted for potential confounders and have reported that milk consumption is associated with lower caries experience or incidence. Other types of study generally support this conclusion. Reasons for these favourable caries-related properties include the lower acidogenicity of lactose compared with other dietary sugars and the protective effects of calcium, phosphate, proteins, and fats. There is less research concerning yoghurts but it is likely that the cariogenic potential of plain yoghurt is similar to that of milk. The addition of sucrose to milk increases caries risk.

Early Childhood Caries (ECC) is prevalent around the world, but in particular the disease is growing rapidly in low- and middle-income countries in parallel with changing diet and lifestyles. In many countries, ECC is often left untreated, a condition which leads to pain and adversely affects general health, growth and development, and quality of life of children, their families and their communities. Importantly, ECC is also a global public health burden, medically, socially and economically. In many countries, a substantial number of children require general anaesthesia for the treatment of caries in their primary teeth (usually extractions), and this has considerable cost and social implications. A WHO Global Consultation with oral health experts on "Public Health Intervention against Early Childhood Caries" was held on 26-28 January 2016 in Bangkok (Thailand) to identify public health solutions and to highlight their applicability to low- and middle-income countries. After a 3-day consultation, participants agreed on specific recommendations for further action. National health authorities should develop strategies and implement interventions aimed at preventing and controlling ECC. These should align with existing international initiatives such as the Sixtieth World Health Assembly Resolution WHA 60.17 Oral health: action plan for promotion and integrated disease prevention, WHO Guideline on Sugars and WHO breastfeeding recommendation. ECC prevention and control interventions should be integrated into existing primary healthcare systems. WHO public health principles must be considered when tackling the effect of social determinants in ECC. Initiatives aimed at modifying behaviour should focus on families and communities. The involvement of communities in health promotion, and population-directed and individual fluoride administration for the prevention and control of ECC is essential. Surveillance and research, including cost-effectiveness studies, should be conducted to evaluate interventions aimed at preventing ECC in different population groups.

The aim of this review is to give an overview of 55 years experience of milk fluoridation and draw conclusions about the applicability of the method. Fluoridated milk was first investigated in the early 1950s, almost simultaneously in Switzerland, the USA and Japan. Stimulated by the favourable results obtained from these early studies, the establishment of The Borrow Dental Milk Foundation (subsequently The Borrow Foundation) in England gave an excellent opportunity for further research, both clinical and non-clinical, and a productive collaboration with the World Health Organization which began in the early 1980s. Numerous peer-reviewed publications in international journals showed clearly the bioavailability of fluoride in various types of milk. Clinical trials were initiated in the 1980s – some of these can be classed as randomised controlled trials, while most of the clinical studies were community preventive programmes. Conclusion. These evaluations showed clearly that the optimal daily intake of fluoride in milk is effective in preventing dental caries. The amount of fluoride added to milk depends on background fluoride exposure and age of the children: commonly in the range 0.5 to 1.0 mg per day. An advantage of the method is that a precise amount of fluoride can be delivered under controlled conditions. The cost of milk fluoridation programmes is low, about € 2 to 3 per child per year. Fluoridation of milk can be recommended as a caries preventive measure where the fluoride concentration in drinking water is suboptimal, caries experience in children is significant, and there is an existing school milk programme.