Task force to doctors: paint fluoride on baby teeth

By Ronnie Cohen NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – Pediatricians and other primary care doctors should apply fluoride varnish to infants’ teeth soon after they erupt, according to new cavity-fighting guidelines. The recommendations come from the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF), a government-backed panel. “Only one in four preschool children is seeing a dentist, but most see a primary care clinician,” Dr. Michael LeFevre told Reuters Health. “Primary care clinicians can play an important complementary role in helping dentists keep children’s teeth healthy.” A family physician from the University of Missouri School of Medicine in Columbia, LeFevre chairs the USPSTF.