Objective: To measure the fluoride concentration of most popular confectionery in the UK.
Method: Based on the dietary information collected from fifty 3-day food diaries from 32 children residing in south Northumberland and Newcastle-upon-Tyne, the most popular confectionery items (including chocolate) were selected. Three different batches of 30 confectionery items were purchased from stores and supermarkets and analysed in triplicate for fluoride concentration by acid-diffusion method (Zohouri & Rugg-Gunn, 1999) using an Orion 96-09 BN F ion-specific electrode with an Orion 720A potentiometer.
Results: The mean ± sd fluoride concentration of the samples was 0.23 ± 0.22 µg/g with a range from 0.04 to 0.90 µg/g. The daily intake of fluoride from confectionery, for children aged 11/2 to 18 years old in the UK, was very low, ranging from 5 to 9µg/day.
Conclusion: The results of this study show that the amounts of fluoride in confectionery items are negligible. In addition to the risk it poses to dental health as a source of non-milk extrinsic sugars, confectionery has no benefit in terms of fluoride exposure for children.
Supported by grant from the Borrow Foundation