title: Caries-preventive effect on primary and permanent teeth and cost-effectiveness of an NaF tablet preschool program.
abstract: The aim was to assess restorative care, approximal caries, and cost-effectiveness in children at the ages of 8 and 17 yr in relation to NaF tablet intake between 1/2 and 7 yr of age. Based on interview data, 304 subjects (born 1967 in Lund, Sweden) were divided into five groups with different periods of consumption and one group with no intake. A statistically significant difference was found in fs at 8 yr (P less than 0.001) and in FS at 17 yr (P less than 0.01) between children who had taken the tablets regularly from the first year of life to age 5-7 yr (fs = 1.9; FS = 3.8) and the non-consumers (fs = 5.2; FS = 5.9). In the other four tablet groups, both the fs and the FS values tended to decrease with increasing duration of intake. The prevalence of approximal caries also tended to decrease, as regards both dfs and DFS, increasing duration of tablet consumption, with an statistically significant difference (P less than 0.001) in primary teeth between children with the longest intake (dfs = 1.4) and non-consumers (dfs = 4.9). The cost-effectiveness ratio was approximately 1:1 for both dentitions. Most of the effect was obtained in the primary dentition.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pedodontics, Lund University School of Dentistry, Malmö, Sweden.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Widenheim
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Birkhed
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000367:Age Factors; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003362:Cost-Benefit Analysis; D004245:DMF Index; D003729:Dental Care / Q000191:economics; D003731:Dental Caries / Q000191:economics / Q000517:prevention & control*; D003793:Dental Restoration, Permanent / Q000191:economics; D006801:Humans; D012969:Sodium Fluoride / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D013548:Sweden; D013607:Tablets; D013997:Time Factors; D014070:Tooth; D014094:Tooth, Deciduous
chemical_list: D013607:Tablets; D012969:Sodium Fluoride