The Evaluation of a Community-based Preventive Program for Deciduous Caries with Introduction of a Method of Screening High-risk Children

Abstract

We developed a community-based preventive program for high-risk children with regard to the prevalence of dental caries in deciduous teeth. The program consisted mainly of topical fluoride application. The survey to evaluate the program was conducted from April 1990 through March 1994. The subjects were 1,954 children who participated in dental examinations at both 1.5 and 3.5 years of age. They were divided randomly into 2 groups (i. e, Test group and Control group) on the dental examinations at 1.5 years of age. In addition to this, each group was further divided into 2 groups with a discriminant function of screening high-risk children. In other words, the subjects were divided into 4 groups of Test-High group, Test-Low group, Control-High group, and Control-Low group. The Test-High group was recalled at intervals of 3 months, and the other 3 groups were recalled at intervals of 6 months. The Test-High group was informed of the time of next participation in the program by a postcard. The Test-High group experienced a 33.7% lower dmfs increment for 2 years (Δdmfs) than the Control-High group, with statistical significance (p<0.001). The test group experienced a 16.8% lower Δdmfs than the control group, with statistical significance (p < 0.01). There was no significant difference of Δdmfs between the Test-High group and the Test-Low group. These findings suggest that the program for high-risk children contributed to the reduction of caries incidence and that, as a result, the total amount of deciduous caries in 1.5 to 3.5-year-old children can be significantly reduced at the community level.