Premium
Effect on dental caries of a dental public health program for Danish schoolchildren
Author(s) -
Poulsen S.,
Risager J.
Publication year - 1975
Publication title -
community dentistry and oral epidemiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.061
H-Index - 101
eISSN - 1600-0528
pISSN - 0301-5661
DOI - 10.1111/j.1600-0528.1975.tb00301.x
Subject(s) - medicine , danish , oral hygiene , dentistry , dental health , public health , dental care , dental hygiene , family medicine , oral health , preventive care , environmental health , health care , nursing , philosophy , linguistics , economics , economic growth
The effect of a dental public health program comprising schoolchildren under the Danish Act on Child Dental Health has been evaluated after 5 years of operation. The program comprised complete restorative care for all children from kindergarten through the 9th grade (16 years of age), but only children attending kindergarten through third grade (10 years) are included in the present study. Each grade comprised approximately 50 children. A number of preventive procedures such as topical fluoride application, oral hygiene instruction and various other educational procedures have been used. The treatment services resulted in almost complete elimination of the “D” component and the “M” component in the DMFS index. The preventive services resulted in marked reductions in the total DMFS index, and almost complete elimination of new carious lesions after enrollment in the program. The non‐experimental nature of the study makes it impossible to determine the effect of each one of the preventive procedures used in the program.