Abstract
To develop the cooperation between public schools and dental clinics, the "8020 Improvement Project" has been conducted since 2000 in Niigata Prefecture. The purpose of this survey was to report the project usefulness according to its baseline data. The "8020 Improvement Project" was established to make a new system to frame the cooperation between public schools and dental clinics. Elementary and junior high school students in all 110 cities, towns, and villages, except for one town, in Niigata Prefecture participated in the project. The number of subjects in the survey was 138,536 elementary school students and 77,082 junior high school students. Suggestions for preventive treatment at dental clinics using a standardised method were given if CO observation teeth or gingivitis were discovered at regular dental examinations. The percentages of children with CO observation teeth were 12.2% of all elementary school students (ESS) and 19.1% of all junior high school students (JSS). Among the children who were given suggestions for preventive treatment, 55.6% of the ESS and 36.3% of the JSS consulted dental clinics. Pit and fissure sealant was applied to 38.8% of the ESS and 36.3% of the JSS at dental clinics. On the other hand, the percentages of children who were given suggestions for preventive treatment for gingivitis were 3.0% of the ESS and 5.9% of the JSS. Among the children who were given suggestions for preventive treatment, 54.6% of the ESS and 30.8% of the JSS consulted dental clinics. 43.2% of the ESS and 51.0% of the JSS were treated for calculus removal following scaling. In addition, oral hygiene instruction was given to 51.2% of the ESS and 56.5% of the JSS. These findings suggest that the "8020 Improvement Project" is very useful for the cooperation between public schools and dental clinics. This is the one good way to improve dental health in communities.
