Abstract
OBJECTIVES:
To test the effectiveness of fluoride varnish in preventing caries in early childhood in children at high risk of caries.
BASIC RESEARCH DESIGN:
Randomized controlled trial.
PARTICIPANTS:
504
participants, with mean age of 21 months at baseline randomly allocated
into a test and a control group. 427 children remained in the study
after two years.
INTERVENTION:
Fluoride varnish applied four times a year, every three months. The intervention lasted for two years.
MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES:
Dental status was recorded based on the International Caries Detection and Assessment System (ICADS).
RESULTS:
Mean
dmfs was similar in the control and test groups at baseline (1.0 and
1.2 respectively) but was significantly different (10.1 and 5.2, p ⟨
0.001, ANOVA) at endpoint. The proportion caries free in the two groups
was 40% and 69.4% after two years.
CONCLUSIONS:
The
application of fluoride varnish four times a year prevented the
incidence and reduced the severity of caries in pre-school children.
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