COMBINED SELF-APPLIED FLUORIDES AND SEALANTS FOR CARIES PREVENTION

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In October 1972, a self-administered dental health program was started in Nelson County, Va., a fluoride-deficient community. Children in the County's schools, under teacher supervision, chew and ingest daily a 1 mg F tablet and rinse weekly with a 0.2% NaF solution. A fluoride dentifrice is provided for ad libitum use at home. Baseline DMFS examinations were made of 2138 children in the County's elementary (grades 1-6), junior (grades 7 and 8), and senior (grades 9-12) high schools. Follow-up DMFS examinations were conducted at two-to-three year intervals until 1983 when the full effectiveness of the program was achieved. In the fall of 1983, a sealant program was added to the ongoing fluoride program. Children who were 6, 7, 12 and 13 were eligible to have pit-and-fissure sealants applied. An initial screening to identify those tooth surfaces to be sealed was made in December 1983. Carries data (DMFS) from the September 1983 dental examination will serve as a baseline for those children who participate in the sealant phase of the study. In succeeding years, new groups of 6 and 12 year olds have been enrolled. Treatments have continued for four years. Interim dental examinations took place at the start of the third year of the study (September 1985) and the final examinations will be made in September 1987.