title: Effectiveness of a new fluoride varnish for caries prevention in pre-school children.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate the effectiveness of a new fluoride varnish (Clinpro White Varnish, 3MEspe, Seefeld, Germany) with regard to the caries incidence within a 2-year period
  
  
  METHODS
  A non-randomized sample of 400 children from the Kyffhäuser district (Thuringia, Germany) was divided into a fluoride group (FG, biannual application of fluoride varnish) and control group (CG, no intervention). (Non-)cavitated caries lesions were recorded using World Health Organization (WHO) and Universal Visual Scoring System (UniViSS) criteria. Parents were given questionnaires to gather information about their socio-economic status (SES). Non-parametric methods and binomial logistic regression were used for data analysis.
  
  
  RESULTS
  There was a significant increase in caries incidence in both groups. The number of non-cavitated carious lesions was significantly lower in the FG (mean 2.2; sd 2.3) compared with the CG (mean 2.9; sd 1.9). Initial statistical analysis revealed that fluoride varnish might prevent non-cavitated carious lesions. When including SES as a confounder into regression model, potential preventive effect was lost.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study underlines the importance of the multi-factorial etiology of caries and illustrates that the effectiveness of biannual fluoride varnish application was evident in non-cavitated carious lesions only.
authors.affiliation: Department of Conservative Dentistry and Periodontology, Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich, Germany. pitchika@dent.med.uni-muenchen.de
authors.forename: Vinay
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Pitchika
authors.affiliation: Department of Preventive and Paediatric Dentistry, University Hospital of Jena, Germany.
authors.forename: Claudia J
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Kokel
authors.affiliation: Health Centre of Kyffhäuser District, Sondershausen, Germany.
authors.forename: Jana
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Andreeva
authors.affiliation: Institute for Medical Informatics, Biometry and Epidemiology, Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich, Germany.
authors.forename: Alexander
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Crispin
authors.affiliation: Department of Conservative Dentistry and Periodontology, Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich, Germany.
authors.forename: Reinhard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Hickel
authors.affiliation: Department of Conservative Dentistry and Periodontology, Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich, Germany.
authors.forename: Jan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kühnisch
authors.affiliation: Department of Preventive and Paediatric Dentistry, University Hospital of Jena, Germany.
authors.forename: Roswitha
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Heinrich-Weltzien
mesh_terms: D002327:Cariostatic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004245:DMF Index; D003731:Dental Caries / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology / Q000473:pathology* / Q000517:prevention & control*; D003736:Dental Cavity Lining; D005460:Fluorides, Topical / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D016015:Logistic Models; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D015995:Prevalence; D012923:Social Class; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D002327:Cariostatic Agents; D005460:Fluorides, Topical