Objectives: Dental fluorosis prevalence continues to be of concern to the Dental Public Health community, while our knowledge concerning fluoride intake of young children is incomplete. Combined fluoride intake from multiple sources has rarely been estimated. This paper reports on estimated daily fluoride intake from water by itself, other beverages, dentifrice, and dietary supplements, both individually and in combination, among children in the Iowa Fluoride Study when aged 3-5 years. Methods: Children had been recruited from 8 Iowa hospitals in 1992-95, with questionnaires (including food frequency assessment) sent at 4-6 month intervals. Results: Daily mean (SD) fluoride intake (in mg) estimates were: Water by itself: 36 mo. (n=563) - .15 (.18), 48 mo. (n=530) - .16 (.18), 60 mo. (n=570) - .19 (.22) Other beverages: 36 mo. - .26 (.20), 48 mo. - .25 (.25), 60 mo. - .24 (.21) Dentifrice: 36 mo. - .28 (.29), 48 mo. - .27 (.32), 60 mo. - .21 (.28) Supplements: 36 mo. - .02 (.08), 48 mo. - .02 (.10), 60 mo. - .02 (.10) Combined: 36 mo. - .70 (.42), 48 mo. – .70 (.47), 60 mo. - .66 (.43). Some individuals' intakes greatly exceeded the mean level, as seen by the large standard deviations. Conclusions: Results suggest that daily mean fluoride intakes from individual sources and combined are relatively stable from 36 –60 months among these children, although there is great variation. Supported by NIH grants R01-DE09551, R01-DE12101, P30-DE10126, and CRC-RR00059, and bridging funds from the University of Iowa.

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