ABSTRACT
Dental examinations of approximately 5,000 kindergarten children each year over a seven-year period provided the data for a comparative study of the effects of fluoride tablets and fluoridated water on primary teeth. The lifetime use of fluoridated water resulted in caries-free teeth in 80 per cent of children aged 3-4 years, 67 per cent of those aged 4-5 years, and 55 per cent of those aged 5-6 years. After a lifetime use of daily fluoride tablets the percentages were 87, 74, and 72, respectively. When neither fluoridated water nor tablets were available, the percentages were 69, 49, and 41, respectively. Water fluoridation is the most efficient public health measure because only seventeen per cent of the children taking tablets received them daily throughout life.
Subject(s)
Dental Caries/prevention & control , Fluoridation , Fluorides/administration & dosage , Tooth, Deciduous , Australia , Child, Preschool , Dental Caries/epidemiology , Female , Fluorides/therapeutic use , Humans , Male , TabletsSubject(s)
Oral Health , School Health Services , Australia , Child , Child, Preschool , Dental Health Surveys , HumansABSTRACT
A study of 4,278 country and city kindergarten children living in South Australia showed 63 and 59 per cent received fluoride tablets at some time and 17 per cent received daily doses. Lower dmf scores were found in those taking fluoride tablets but of decreasing value in the older children. Where no fluoride was taken zero dmf scores were 41-69 per cent. Protection from fluoride was not found where fluoride was taken for less than two years. Self administration appears to be an unsatisfactory method for fluoride therapy.
