Effect of supervised use of a fluoride toothpaste on caries incidence in pre-school children

Caries prevalence of children living in Helsinki is low and little further reduction has been seen during recent years. The aim of the study was to investigate whether a supervised daily brushing at school with a fluoride toothpaste containing 1.2% sodium monofluorophosphate reduced caries incidence in a well-controlled group of nursery-school children with low caries prevalence. A total of 87 children from two nursery schools formed the test group. A group of children matched for age, baseline dfs and follow-up time, who had attended the same nursery schools just before starting this prospective study and who had brushed their teeth daily at school without toothpaste, formed a retrospective control group. After the follow-up time (mean 1.4 years), the total number of new carious surfaces was 23 in the test group (mean 0.3) and 83 in the control group (mean 0.9); the difference was significant. In the test group 72% and in the control group 62% of children were caries-free after the follow-up period. The results suggest that the use of a fluoride toothpaste as an extra daily prophylaxis reduces caries incidence in pre-school children.