Description: Silver Diamine Fluoride (SDF) has been used for decades throughout the world and has had FDA clearance in the United States since 2014. There are many clinical uses of SDF in the dental field including hypersensitivity relief, caries arrest, liner under new restorations, occlusal barrier, control of gingivitis, and prevention for moderate to high-risk sites. To increase young children’s receipt of preventive oral health services, the US Preventive Services Task Force recommends medical providers apply fluoride varnish to young children’s teeth during well-child visits through five years of age. Pre-pandemic data shows that 89% of children younger than six years of age had a preventive medical visit in 2019. Therefore, offering fluoride varnish in medical settings has become increasingly popular due to its effectiveness at reducing tooth decay, which affects nearly a quarter of US children ages two to five years and more than half of children ages six to eight years. Fluoride varnish is easily applied and well tolerated by children which makes it ideal for integration into medical practices. In July 2023, there will be a medical CPT code (99X8T) available for the application of SDF by a physician or other qualified health care professional. The ease of application and effectiveness of SDF at both caries arrest and prevention will greatly improve access to care for patients of all ages and easily be integrated into medical visits. New advances in SDF will help make site specific application in nontraditional dental settings even easier.
