Comparative effects of a 4‐year fluoride mouthrinse program on high and low caries forming grade 1 children

Abstract

This paper presents the comparative effectiveness of fluoride mouthrinse (FMR) on high and low caries forming children after a 4-yr exposure to weekly rinse beginning in the first grade. Over 1200 grade 1 children drawn from both fluoride deficient and fluoridated sites were divided into treatment and concurrent, longitudinal control groups. After 4 yr these children were stratified according to caries increment; those above the 75th percentile were considered high caries formers, all others were designated low caries formers. After adjustment of the mean increments for differences in SES, age, race, and sex in rinse and control groups, high caries formers (approximately 25% of the children) in the rinse and control groups in fluoride deficient areas showed increments of 7.00 and 7.79 surfaces, respectively, indicating a savings of 0.79 surfaces. Low caries formers (approximately 75% of the children) demonstrated increments of 1.11 DMFS in the rinse group and 1.40 in the control group (savings 0.29 DMFS). The pattern was quite similar for children in fluoridated areas except that the increments, as well as the savings realized, were lower. The results raise questions as to the practical effectiveness of school based FMR programs even for high caries forming children.

Declínio da cárie em um município da região noroeste do Estado de São Paulo, Brasil, no período de 1998 a 2004

“…É um conjunto de procedimentos de promoção e prevenção em saúde bucal, de baixa complexidade e que dispensam equipamentos odontológicos. Den-tre eles, o município realiza somente os bochechos fluoretados, que podem influir no declínio da cárie dentária, embora segundo Disney et al 23,24 a cárie diminuiu na presença ou na ausência de programas de bochecho de flúor e de outras formas de aplicação tópica de flúor.…”

Caries-Preventive Effects of Fluoride Products when Used in Conjunction with Fluoride Dentifrice

“…In two studies schoolchildren rinsed weekly with a 0.2% NaF solution over 3 or 4 years [Disney et al, 1989;Chikte et al, 1996]. In the study of Disney et al [1989], the caries inhibition depended on the caries activity. High caries formers showed an inhibition of 10% whereas it was 21% in the group of low caries formers.…”

Effect of School-Based Fluoride Mouth Rinsing Program in a Socially Deprived Community

“…A school-based FMR program targeted to children in a deprived community may be an effective method to reduce the prevalence in caries and inequalities in dental health 6) . Furthermore, considering that children of low socioeconomic status have a disproportionately high share of dental caries, a school-based FMR program could be more effective to children in a deprived community 6,12) . Mongolia has a gross national product (GNP) of 1,486 USD, which is the 121st in the world.…”