Measurement of Dental Caries Incidence in School Children Using a Sodium Bicarbonate Dentifrice

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Abstract
469 children 6-16 yrs. old were randomly divided into 2 groups and placed on a tooth-brushing program supervised by their teachers and school nurse. 310 children used a dentifrice containg Na bicarbonate, tricalcium phosphate, saccharin, and methyl salicylate. The other group of 159 children used the same dentifrice minus the Na bicarbonate. Mirror, explorer, and roentgenographic (bite-wing) examinations were made at the start and completion of the one-year study. Lactobacillus counts were obtained for 349 pupils. Caries prevalence was expressed as (1)% of DMF teeth; (2)% of DMF surfaces; and (3) lesions and fillings per 100 teeth. The 3 methods of measurement showed that the use of Na bicarbonate very slightly lowered the incidence of caries, but to an extent that was not significant. The distribution of children with lactobacillus counts above and below 10,000/cc. of saliva, respectively, was comparable for the 2 groups of children at the start and completion of the study. During the yr. there was an avg. of 2.3 carious or filled surfaces per extracted tooth.