The Surface-Specific Caries Pattern of Participants in a School-Based Fluoride Mouthrinsing Program with Implications for the Use of Sealants

This paper describes the surface-specific changes in the DMFS after seven years of a school-based mouthrinsing program occurring in the elementary schools of the fluoride-deficient Three Village Central School District, Long Island, New York. The effectiveness of mouthrinsing was evaluated annually by comparing the caries prevalence of a random sample of participants to that of Three Village elementary schoolchildren examined in 1975, prior to the beginning of the program. Because sixth-grade children rinsed the longest and had the longest exposure to the caries challenge, only sixth-grade children who participated in the program are included in the analysis. Overall, they experienced a 50 percent reduction in dental caries; the reduction was not uniformly experienced by all surfaces. Proximal surface caries showed the greatest rate of change but the least absolute change, because the amount of proximal carious lesions was low initially. Occlusal surfaces showed the greatest absolute reduction in dental caries, whereas buccolingual surfaces had the lowest percentage reduction. The majority of the decayed or filled surfaces, 94 percent, involved pits or fissures. Therefore, it was concluded that the combined use of sealants and weekly fluoride rinsing could produce a virtual elimination of dental decay in elementary schoolchildren.