ADEA eLearn
Fluoride Between Evidence and Hesitancy: What Dental Educators Need to Know
Includes a Live Web Event on 09/22/2026 at 12:00 PM (EDT)
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Join us for this timely webinar as we provide a concise, evidence-based overview of fluoride in contemporary caries prevention amid rising public and professional hesitancy. Presenters will review how common fluoride modalities work and summarize key evidence on effectiveness. The webinar will also highlight the most frequently raised safety questions and the practical steps clinicians and educators can use to minimize risk, including age-appropriate use and fluorosis prevention. Participants will gain insight into alternative approaches to caries prevention and where they may fit when fluoride is declined or insufficient alone. The session will conclude with practical communication strategies to support respectful, effective conversations with patients, caregivers and colleagues who have concerns about fluoride.
Learning Objectives
- Summarize the evidence supporting the benefits of fluoride in caries prevention and management, with attention to risk-based applications.
- Identify key alternatives/adjuncts to fluoride and when they are appropriate.
- Apply communication techniques to respond to fluoride hesitancy in clinical and educational settings
Original Release Date: September 22, 2026
Expiration Date: September 22, 2029
Questions? Contact [email protected]
Teaching Method: Lecture
Disclaimer
The purpose of this program is to educate and inform. Information provided in this program is not a substitute for professional care and is not intended for use in the diagnosis or treatment of individual conditions. Guests at this presentation express their own experience, opinions and conclusions, which do not necessarily reflect those of their employer or any organization or group with whom they may be affiliated. Expressed viewpoints and opinions by speaker(s), presenter(s), guest(s) and/or facilitator(s) are also not those of the American Dental Education Association (ADEA), ADEA staff or the ADEA Board of Directors. The mention of any product, service, organization, activity or therapy should not be construed as an endorsement by ADEA.
CE Information
ADEA is an ADA CERP recognized provider.
ADA CERP is a service of the American Dental Association to assist dental professionals in identifying quality providers of continuing dental education. ADA CERP does not approve or endorse individual courses or instructors, nor does it imply acceptance of credit hours by boards of dentistry. Concerns or complaints about a continuing education (CE) provider may be directed to the provider or to the Commission for Continuing Education Provider Recognition at CCEPR.ada.org.
ADEA designates this activity for 1.0 continuing education credits.
CE credit is awarded for overall participation in the ADEA eLearn webinar, "Fluoride Between Evidence and Hesitancy: What Dental Educators Need to Know."
Margherita Fontana, D.D.S., Ph.D. acknowledges that they have a financial relationship with The National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR) and Procter & Gamble (P&G) that may be relevant to their presentation. All relevant financial relationships have been mitigated.
Salma Elwazeer, B.D.S., M.D.S., M.P.H., FRSPH, FICD, FACD agrees that they do not have any financial relationships with commercial entities that may be relevant to their presentation.
Margherita Fontana, D.D.S., Ph.D.
Clifford Nelson Endowed Professor of Dentistry
University of Michigan School of Dentistry
Margherita Fontana, D.D.S., Ph.D., is the Clifford Nelson Endowed Professor of Dentistry in the Department of Cariology, Restorative Sciences and Endodontics at University of Michigan School of Dentistry (U-M). She is the Chair of the Department of Cariology, Restorative Sciences and Endodontics at U-M. She is currently co-director of Cariology courses. As a principal investigator, she has received research grants associated with cariology from the National Institutes of Health, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid, the American Association of Pediatric Dentistry, the Delta Dental Fund, DentaQuest and private industry amongst others. She has over 200 papers published in peer reviewed journals, such as Journal of Dental Research, Caries Research, Journal of Dental Education, Pediatric Dentistry, Advances in Dental Research, Journal of Public Health Dentistry, Journal of the American Dental Association, British Dental Journal, etc. She was the 2007-2008 President of the Cariology Group of the International Association for Dental Research (IADR), the 2010-2011 Chair of the Cariology Section of the American Dental Education Association (ADEA), and the 2016-2020 President of the American Academy of Cariology. She is currently the 2025-2027 Immediate Past-President and Executive Board member of the Organization for Caries Research (ORCA), the 2026-2027 President-elect of AADOCR, and has been Co-Chair of the Alliance for Cavity Free Future (ACFF) Canada-US Chapter since 2015. In 2012 she received the USA Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE) for her work on caries risk assessment in children. She was the 2009 winner of the IADR Cariology Research Group Basil G. Bibby Award in Cariology, and in 2016 winner of the IADR Burrows Memorial Award.
Margherita Fontana, D.D.S., Ph.D. acknowledges that they have a financial relationship with The National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR) and Procter & Gamble (P&G) that may be relevant to their presentation. All relevant financial relationships have been mitigated.
Salma Elwazeer, B.D.S., M.D.S., M.P.H., FRSPH, FICD, FACD (Moderator)
Assistant Professor and Director of Public Health Education and Interprofessional Education (IPE)
Hunt School of Dental Medicine, Texas Tech Health El Paso
Dr. Salma Elwazeer, B.D.S., M.D.S., M.P.H., FRSPH, FICD, FACD, is an associate professor and Director of Public Health Education and Interprofessional Education (IPE) at Hunt School of Dental Medicine, Texas Tech Health El Paso, with a secondary Faculty appointment at Foster School of Medicine. She earned her dental degree from Ain-Shams University in Cairo, Egypt, completed a pediatric dentistry residency and master’s degree, earned her MPH at Purdue University, and completed a Dental Public Health residency at UT Health San Antonio. At Texas Tech, Dr. Elwazeer directs the Community Health Certificate Curriculum, a required four-year program that integrates public health, IPE, and Spanish-language into dental education. Her scholarly record includes over 50 peer-reviewed publications, presentations, seminars, and workshops. Her efforts have been recognized at the institutional, state, and national levels with various awards, including the Chancellor’s Council Distinguished Teaching Award, the highest faculty honor in the Texas Tech University System, and the ADA Foundation Whiston Leadership Award. Dr. Elwazeer is a fellow of the 2026-2027 ADEA Leadership Institute. She also serves as a chair of the ADEA’s section on Community, Preventive, and Public Health Dentistry (CPPHD), and holds leadership roles at AAPHD and APHA. Dr. Elwazeer is a Diplomate of the American Board of Dental Public Health and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Public Health, the International College of Dentists, and the American College of Dentists.
Speaker agrees they do not have any financial relationships with commercial entities that may be relevant to their presentation.
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