Abstract
Objectives: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of the oral health program including fluoride mouth rinse for preschool children and fissure sealant for school children, which was initiated by the community health center of Gijang-gun, Busan, Korea for two years from 1999 to 2000. Methods: Dental surveys were carried out on six to eight year old children who had participated in the program in 200 I and also on a control group from other district of Busan, which was estimated to be similar to socio-economical factors to dental caries prevalence. The number of the subjects is 2,947 children in the participant group and 997 children in the control group. The obtained data from these surveys were analyzed with the SPSS statistical package. Results: The mean DMFT scores are 0.09,0.27, and 0.58 for the children at the ages of six, seven and eight in the program group, respectively. The mean DMFT scores of the program group are significantly lower at all ages than those of the control group. By the differentials of the mean DMFT scores between the program and control groups, the caries reduction rates of the program have been estimated as 50.0%, 51.9%, and 29.3% at the ages of six, seven and eight, respectively. The Significant Caries Indices of permanent teeth are 0.28, 0.79, and 1.76 at the ages of six, seven and eight in the program group, respectively. The Significant Caries Indices of permanent teeth are significantly lower at all ages in the program group than in the control group. Conclusions: These results support that dental caries can be significantly reduced by the oral health promotion program, which includes the application of fissure sealants and fluoride mouth rinse.