Effectiveness of a new fluoride varnish for caries prevention in pre-school children.

Abstract

OBJECTIVE:

To investigate the effectiveness of a new fluoride varnish (Clinpro White Varnish, 3MEspe, Seefeld, Germany) with regard to the caries incidence within a 2-year period

STUDY DESIGN:

A non-randomized sample of 400 children from the Kyffhäuser district (Thuringia, Germany) was divided into a fluoride group (FG, biannual application of fluoride varnish) and control group (CG, no intervention). (Non-)cavitated caries lesions were recorded using World Health Organization (WHO) and Universal Visual Scoring System (UniViSS) criteria. Parents were given questionnaires to gather information about their socio-economic status (SES). Non-parametric methods and binomial logistic regression were used for data analysis.

RESULTS:

There was a significant increase in caries incidence in both groups. The number of non-cavitated carious lesions was significantly lower in the FG (mean 2.2; sd 2.3) compared with the CG (mean 2.9; sd 1.9). Initial statistical analysis revealed that fluoride varnish might prevent non-cavitated carious lesions. When including SES as a confounder into regression model, potential preventive effect was lost.

CONCLUSIONS:

This study underlines the importance of the multi-factorial etiology of caries and illustrates that the effectiveness of biannual fluoride varnish application was evident in non-cavitated carious lesions only.

• Authors: Vinay Pitchika, Claudia J Kokel, Jana Andreeva, Alexander Crispin, Reinhard Hickel, Jan Kühnisch, Roswitha Heinrich-Weltzien
• Journal: The Journal of clinical pediatric dentistry (J Clin Pediatr Dent) Vol. 38 Issue 1 Pg. 7-12 ( 2013) ISSN: 1053-4628 [Print] Singapore
• PMID: 24579275 (Publication Type: Controlled Clinical Trial, Journal Article)

Chemical References

• Cariostatic Agents
• Fluorides, Topical

Topics

• Cariostatic Agents (therapeutic use)
• Child, Preschool
• DMF Index
• Dental Caries (epidemiology, etiology, pathology, prevention & control)
• Dental Cavity Lining
• Fluorides, Topical (therapeutic use)
• Humans
• Incidence
• Logistic Models
• Longitudinal Studies
• Prevalence
• Social Class
• Statistics, Nonparametric
• Surveys and Questionnaires
• Time Factors