Effects of fluorotherapy on oral changes caused by a vegan diet

The aim of this paper was to investigate the effects of fluorotherapy on the oral health of subjects who had been following a vegan diet (lacking in meat and animal derivatives) for a long period of time (at least 1 year and 6 months). Methods: A preliminary study (t<inf>0</inf>) evaluated 50 subjects, all from northern Italy and aged 24-60 years (28 male and 22 female) who had been following a vegan diet for a minimum of 18 months to a maximum of 20 years, and compared them with a control group of 50 individuals following a Mediterranean diet. All vegan subjects showed oral changes such as white spots, lesions invisible to the naked eye and decreased salivary pH values (∼5-6). In a second study (t<inf>1</inf>), the 50 vegan subjects were randomly divided into two subgroups of 25. Subgroup SGI underwent fluorotherapy with sodium fluoride (Elmex fluoride gel® 1.25%) administered once daily for 1 year. Subgroup SG2 served as controls and did not receive fluorotherapy. The following parameters were recorded before the start of fluorotherapy and again after 1 year: salivary pH; Decayed, Missing, Filled teeth Index; presence and location of white spots and lesions not visible to the naked eye; Plaque Index, and Gingival Index. Results: In SGI, larger lesions became smaller in diameter and small lesions disappeared, a statistically significant improvement compared with SG2, despite the persistence of restricted eating habits and the oral hygiene conditions being similar to those at t<inf>0</inf>. Salivary pH showed no significant change in either subgroup. Conclusion: Daily application of a topical 1.25% fluoride gel is effective in reducing the incidence of white spot lesions caused by a vegan diet.