Children's response to various local fluoride treatments

The aim of the study was to evaluate children's responses to four different gel tray systems and their preference to gel treatment twice a year versus fortnightly fluoride rinsing. For the study 91 children attending third grade (10-11 years) were divided into 3 groups and 119 children attending seventh grade (14-15 years) into 4 groups. The children were treated with a neutral 2% sodium fluoride tixotropic gel by means of one of the following trays: A. Air Cushion Fluoridator B. Centrays C. An individually constructed tray made of impression material (Citricon) D. An individually constructed tray made from soft acrylic. After treatment the children's response toward the treatment was evaluated by means of interviews. The majority of the children preferred gel tray treatment to fortnightly mouth rinsing (p less than 0.0003). Disposable trays were less acceptable than the individually made trays or the Air Cushion Fluoridator. However, all trays were tolerated for 15 minutes by all children. Cost analysis showed that the difference in expense using the various trays decreased as the number of treatments of the single individual increased.