title: Influence of increased toothbrushing frequency on dental health in low, optimal, and high fluoride areas in Finland.
abstract: In our previous report we found that the dental health of Finnish 13-15-yr-old children had significantly improved from 1973 to 1982. The aim of this study was to assess whether the improved dental health was associated with frequency of toothbrushing and associated use of fluoride dentifrice. In both 1973 and 1982 some 360 children were scored for the DFS index. In each of three towns with 0.2 ppm, 1.0 ppm, and 2.5 ppm fluoride in the drinking water, samples of about 40 children were randomly picked from each age cohort of 13, 14, and 15 yr. The children were grouped into "infrequent", "daily", or "frequent" brushers. Overall, from 1973 to 1982 the proportion of "daily" and "frequent" brushers had increased from 56% to 75% (P less than 0.001). The overall DFST (T = total) and DFSA (A = approximal) scores had declined significantly in all brushing frequency groups. Looking at separate fluoride areas, the actual decline was found to have occurred in the low fluoride area where in 1982 the DFS scores were 50% or less of the 1973 scores (P less than 0.05). In the low fluoride area in 1973, no association was found between brushing frequency and DFS scores whereas in 1982, high brushing frequency was found to be associated with low DFS scores (P less than 0.05). The decrease in DFS scores was suggested at least partly to be associated with the increased frequency of brushing the teeth with fluoride dentifrice.
authors.affiliation: Department of Periodontology, University of Helsinki, Finland.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ainamo
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Parvianinen
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D004245:DMF Index; D003731:Dental Caries / Q000517:prevention & control*; D003802:Dentifrices; D005387:Finland; D005459:Fluorides / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000032:analysis*; D006801:Humans; D011897:Random Allocation; D013997:Time Factors; D014099:Toothbrushing / Q000379:methods*; D014881:Water Supply / Q000032:analysis*
chemical_list: D003802:Dentifrices; D005459:Fluorides