Long-term effect of intensive caries prophylaxis.
The purpose of the present study was to examine the long-term effect of intensive caries prophylaxis. A preventive program mainly based on professional toothcleaning was demonstrated to be highly effective against caries incidence over a 2-yr period. Five years after the termination of the test period 519 subjects, 17-21 yr of age, were reexamined. The results showed that 1) the smooth surface caries prevalence was very low, 2) a high number of the carious lesions became arrested with time, 3) a long-term effect seemed to be obtained in subjects at a high caries risk, and 4) salivary S. mutans and lactobacilli could be used for caries prediction over a 7-yr period.
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D004245:DMF Index; D003731:Dental Caries / Q000517:prevention & control*; D003733:Dental Caries Susceptibility; D003777:Dental Prophylaxis; D006801:Humans; D012463:Saliva / Q000382:microbiology; D013295:Streptococcus mutans / Q000166:cytology; D013997:Time Factors