The possibility of school milk as a vehicle for fluoride: epidemiological, organisational and legal considerations.

The aim of this study was to investigate the epidemiological, organisational and legal considerations of using school milk as a vehicle for fluoride. The background to the work was the need to develop alternative methods of fluoride supplementation for high risk groups living in areas where water fluoridation is unlikely. St Helens in Merseyside was chosen as the study area, where 23 per cent of 4-year-old children were identified as having a high caries experience (dmft > or = 4). It was found that 65 per cent of 3 and 4-year-old children attend local authority educational facilities, where milk is provided on a daily basis for children aged 2 to 7 years. This group included 62 per cent of the 4-year-old group with high caries experience. The legal aspects of adding fluoride to milk were found to be complex but it was concluded that there may be considerable potential for using school milk as a vehicle for fluoride, and a large-scale study is now planned.