An approach to objective assessment of caries prophylactic measures in a dental health program

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Abstract
In a retrospective survey the mean number of intact proximal surfaces on the first molars of 13‐year‐old children was found to increase from 2.6 to 4.8 following 7 years of a preventive program with fortnightly fluoride mouthrinsings (0.2% NaF). This improvement was significant and corresponded to a reduction of the totally filled surfaces from 30.0 to 16.6. Caries on the proximal surfaces on the first molars was assessed from bite‐wing radiographs. Judged from interexaminer comparisons, the number of filled surfaces was a reliable parameter of the caries prevalence ill 13‐year‐old children. In a group of 54 children aged 13 who participated in the preventive program, the caries experience on the proximal surfaces of the first molars was significantly associated with the total DMFS.