Coverage of Fluoride Mouthrinses Articles in Japanese Newspapers

Objectives: The newspaper is one of the important sources of information about dental health, although there is concern that inaccurate information about fluoride may affect the use of fluoride mouthrinses in Japan. The aim of this study was to assess the newspaper articles regarding fluoride mouthrinses to analyze the extent and content of coverage. Methods: We searched “Nikkei Telecom 21 database” to obtain articles published from August 1988 to July 2005 in five major Japanese newspapers. The keyword used was “fluoride mouthrinses”. Results: We identified 83 newspaper articles after excluding 4 articles that didn't have detail content. Sixty-seven (80.7%) of these 83 articles were published in local versions of newspapers. The number of fluoride mouthrinses articles varied in different years, from none (a low of 0) in 1989 and 1993 to a peak of 13 in 2004, but it has increased after 1999 and been around 10 articles since then. Other fluoride application methods mentioned in the articles besides fluoride mouthrinses were topical fluoride application (N=18), water fluoridation (N=18), fluoride toothpastes (N=11), fluoridated salt (N=4), and fluoride tablets (N=3). Fifty-two (62.7%) articles described preventive effects of fluoride mouthrinses, on the contrary, 27 (32.5%) articles reported side effects and toxicity of fluoride. Sixteen (19.3%) articles presented both benefits and harmful effects of fluoride. Harmful effects mentioned were fluorosis (N=10), risk of fluoride toxicity (N=6), carcinogenicity (N=5), Down's syndrome (N=2), and osteoporosis (N=2). Three articles covered the misuse of fluoride mouthrinses liquid. Other 14 articles just stated that the safeness of fluoride was questionable. Conclusions: Mass media is an effective way to deliver health information to a large population. In this study, anti-fluoride newspaper articles seemed to catch reader's eye compared to pro-fluoride articles, which fact suggested that even few anti-fluoride articles might potentially influence reader's attitude toward fluoride mouthrinses implementation.