Fluorides in the new millennium.

Water fluoridation is known to be the most successful public health measure of the 20th century. More than half a century later, we are still reaping the benefits of fluoridation. We now know that the most important mechanism of fluoride action occurs through daily low-dose exposures. The battle between demineralization and remineralization occurs constantly, and fluoride shifts the balance to the latter. This dynamic, daily process far supersedes the pre-eruptive fluoride incorporation in importance. Fluoride, however, is now available in a variety of very different forms, useful in waging the war on caries. Nevertheless, opponents of this therapeutic agent maintain that its widespread use should be curtailed. Although the benefits of fluoride can no longer be disputed, fluoride supplementation must be supported and approached with consideration of total fluoride exposure.