December 7, 2021 – The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force released today a final recommendation statement on screening and interventions to prevent dental caries in children younger than 5 years. The Task Force recommends that primary care clinicians apply fluoride varnish to the teeth of all children beginning when their teeth first start coming in and prescribe oral fluoride supplementation for children 6 months and older whose water supply doesn’t contain enough fluoride. The Task Force determined that there is not enough evidence to recommend for or against primary care clinicians regularly screening for cavities with an exam in children younger than 5 years old. To view the recommendation, the evidence on which it is based, and a summary for clinicians, please go here. The final recommendation statement can also be found in the December 7, 2021, online issue of JAMA.
