The efficacy of a school‐based caries preventive program: a 4‐year study

Abstract

This longitudinal study aimed at testing the efficacy of a school-based caries preventive program, by comparing dental caries status of two groups, a study group (436 children) and a control group (420 children) over a period of 4 years. The study group received a preventive program which consisted of intensive oral hygiene instructions sessions, and supervised daily tooth brushing using fluoridated tooth paste in schools. The control group received only oral hygiene instructions sessions. Annual dental examination to record dental caries status, using Decayed Missed Filled Teeth Index (DMFT) and deft, was conducted for both groups over a period of 4 years. At the end of the fourth year the efficacy of the program was tested by comparing the DMFT and deft indices for the two groups using Pearson chi-square test and Cochran-Mantel-Haenzele test. The level of significance was set at P < 0.05. The results after 4 years showed that the caries status of the children in the study group was better than that of the control group. The difference was statistically significant (P-value 0.001). The estimates of relative risk values also showed that children in the control group are 3.1 and 6.4 times at higher risk of having dental caries than those in the study group for age group 12 and 6 respectively. This study proves that supervised daily tooth brushing using fluoridated toothpaste is successful in controlling dental caries in children.

A systematic review of the effects of supervised toothbrushing on caries incidence in children and adolescents

“…The characteristics of the interventions in the included studies are summarized in Table . The trials were carried out in Jordan, Brazil, Germany and USA. In all trials, supervised toothbrushing was performed at schools but they differed regarding children's age, F concentration in the toothpaste and risk of caries.…”

“…Participants were 2–14 years old, and one trial included only preschool children. Toothbrushing was performed with no F toothpaste, 500 ppm F toothpaste and 1000 ppm F toothpaste. Different follow‐up periods were reported: 21 months, 27–29 months, 3 years and 4 years.…”

“…Toothbrushing was performed with no F toothpaste, 500 ppm F toothpaste and 1000 ppm F toothpaste. Different follow‐up periods were reported: 21 months, 27–29 months, 3 years and 4 years. One study evaluated the cumulative survival rates of first molars occlusal surfaces with no caries in low‐caries‐risk surfaces, whereas the other three studies assessed the incidence of caries in the entire dentition.…”

“…The way caries data were reported varied greatly, as shown in Table . Al‐Jundi et al . reported the relative risks for the group of children using 500 ppm F toothpaste (6.3‐year‐olds) and for those using 1000 ppm F toothpaste (11.7‐year‐olds).…”

Do adolescents who are night owls have a higher risk of dental caries? – a case–control study

“…Frequent brushing with fluoride toothpaste is an effective method to prevent caries in the permanent teeth of children and adolescents . More recent studies have reported that frequent brushing with fluoride toothpaste is important in controlling caries among adolescents .…”