Abstract
In 1993, a daily fluoride mouth rinsing program and biannual oral examination were started at the nursery school, elementary school and junior high school of the K District, Tokushima Prefecture. In this study, the longitudinal change of caries development in elementary school students was evaluated. Caries development by tooth type in schoolchildren of the 6th grade was evaluated, and furthermore, the relationship between deciduous tooth caries in 1st grade students and caries development in permanent teeth in 6th grade students was also elucidated. After starting the daily fluoride mouth rinsing program, caries development in the permanent teeth of the low grade children of the elementary school began to decrease first, followed by that of the high grade children, and then, the junior high school students. It was revealed that the strong suppression of caries development in the 1st molar was reflected in a decrease in total caries development in the 6th grade schoolchildren. In addition, a significant relationship between DMFT in the 6th grade schoolchildren and the number of deciduous tooth caries or the number of deciduous teeth in the 1st grade schoolchildren was detected. These results suggest that a fluoride mouth rinsing program before school age is effective for caries prevention in the 1st molar, but, in order to effectively prevent permanent tooth caries, a high risk strategy is needed for children with deciduous tooth caries.
