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DENTAL HEALTH OF FOUR‐YEAR‐OLD CHILDREN
Author(s) -
KÖHLER LENNART,
HOLST KERSTIN
Publication year - 1973
Publication title -
acta pædiatrica
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.772
H-Index - 115
eISSN - 1651-2227
pISSN - 0803-5253
DOI - 10.1111/j.1651-2227.1973.tb08103.x
Subject(s) - medicine , gingivitis , oral health , population , dentistry , dental health , environmental health , pediatrics , rural community , demography , sociology
Summary An unselected population of 1 567 four‐year‐old children in one urban and one rural community in Southern Sweden were investigated for dental disorders as part of a general health control. The mean number of defs (decayed, extracted and filled surfaces) was 7.73 in Lund (urban) and 13.07 in Dalby (rural). The number of caries‐free children was 26.4% and 11.4%, respectively, and the number of “emergency‐cases” was 10.6% and 21.7%, respectively. Significantly better oral health was found in higher socio‐economic groups. A regression analysis showed that the most important factors for the prevention of caries and gingivitis were infrequent between‐meal eating, tooth‐brushing with help from the parents and oral administration of fluoride at an early age, in that order. An experimental group of 697 four‐year‐old children who had got the benefit of a new caries‐preventing program for 2 years at the Child Health Centres showed a significant reduction of caries, from 26.4% caries‐free children to 42.0%.