A programme of preventive dentistry in field conditions carried out in Glasgow, Scotland

A caries-preventive regime comprising fluoride supplementation in age-related doses, three monthly acid-phosphate-fluoride applications, fissure sealing of deciduous and first permanent molars and chair-side dental health education, had been proved cost-effective in a single health centre setting. It was therefore expanded to a community-wide project in the Greater Glasgow area. This study describes the coverage achieved by the scheme, the demographic details of the children involved, and measured the dental health benefits accrued by the participants. The children received an annual dental examination and, to assess the effects of the programme, the records of 310 subjects who had attended three annual examinations were used. The deft and defs reductions ranged from 60 to 6.5 per cent and 58.8 to 9.6 per cent respectively, and equivalent DMFT and DMFS reductions ranged from 11.1 to 0 per cent, and 33.3 to 16.7 per cent respectively. Previously, deft reductions of 63.7 to 86.2 per cent, and defs reductions of 77.6 to 92.6 per cent had been reported (Stephen et al., 1983). In contrast, the corresponding deft and defs reductions achieved in this project were only up to 16.7 and 9.6 per cent respectively. The programme was most beneficial for children who had reached the age of three years after two year's participation in the scheme. The dental health benefits accrued by those receiving the preventive programme appear to be inversely proportional to its size. Therefore it represents an important example of the reduction of a preventive agents' effectiveness when used under field conditions, as opposed to those of controlled clinical trials.