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Caries-preventive effect on primary and permanent teeth and cost-effectiveness of an NaF tablet preschool program
1Department of Pedodontics, Lund University School of Dentistry, Malmö, Sweden.
Insights
Fluoride (NaF) tablet intake in early childhood significantly reduced caries prevalence and restorative care needs by age 17. The cost-effectiveness ratio was approximately 1:1, with most benefits seen in primary teeth.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Dentistry
- Public Health
- Caries Prevention
Background:
- Dental caries remains a significant public health issue in children.
- Early childhood interventions are crucial for long-term oral health.
- Fluoride supplementation is a well-established caries prevention strategy.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the long-term impact of sodium fluoride (NaF) tablet intake during early childhood on restorative care, approximal caries, and cost-effectiveness.
- To assess caries experience at ages 8 and 17 years in relation to NaF tablet consumption periods from 6 months to 7 years of age.
Main Methods:
- Longitudinal study of 304 subjects born in 1967 in Lund, Sweden.
- Subjects were interviewed and divided into groups based on NaF tablet consumption duration (including a non-consumer group).
- Dental caries (fs, FS, dfs, DFS) and restorative care needs were assessed at ages 8 and 17 years.
Main Results:
- Significant reduction in caries prevalence (fs, FS) at ages 8 and 17 in regular NaF tablet consumers compared to non-consumers.
- A dose-response relationship observed, with longer NaF tablet intake duration correlating with decreased caries (dfs, DFS), especially in primary teeth.
- Cost-effectiveness ratio approximated 1:1 for both primary and permanent dentitions, with primary dentition showing the most benefit.
Conclusions:
- Early childhood NaF tablet supplementation is effective in reducing caries and the need for restorative care into adolescence.
- The benefits of NaF tablets are most pronounced in the primary dentition.
- NaF tablet intake demonstrates a favorable cost-effectiveness profile for caries prevention in children.
Abstract:
The aim was to assess restorative care, approximal caries, and cost-effectiveness in children at the ages of 8 and 17 yr in relation to NaF tablet intake between 1/2 and 7 yr of age. Based on interview data, 304 subjects (born 1967 in Lund, Sweden) were divided into five groups with different periods of consumption and one group with no intake. A statistically significant difference was found in fs at 8 yr (P less than 0.001) and in FS at 17 yr (P less than 0.01) between children who had taken the tablets regularly from the first year of life to age 5-7 yr (fs = 1.9; FS = 3.8) and the non-consumers (fs = 5.2; FS = 5.9). In the other four tablet groups, both the fs and the FS values tended to decrease with increasing duration of intake. The prevalence of approximal caries also tended to decrease, as regards both dfs and DFS, increasing duration of tablet consumption, with an statistically significant difference (P less than 0.001) in primary teeth between children with the longest intake (dfs = 1.4) and non-consumers (dfs = 4.9). The cost-effectiveness ratio was approximately 1:1 for both dentitions. Most of the effect was obtained in the primary dentition.