Benefits and prognoses following 10 years of a fluoride mouthrinsing program.

This paper is based upon the mean annual amounts of fillings (filled surfaces) and the DMFS among 6/7- to 15/16-year-old children. Each age group comprised about 450 children. Cross-sectional recordings were available prior to the start of a caries-preventive program based on 2-weekly fluoride rinses. Cross-sectional and longitudinal DMFS recordings were different during the 10 years of observation. This indicates benefits exceeding the present 70% reduction in need for fillings and 50% improved caries prevalence. The ratio fillings needed for giving the DMFS score among 13- to 14-year-old children was found to improve from 1.60 to 1.16. Based on the cumulative amounts of fillings and the ratio of fillings/DMFS, a DMFS of 15 may be expected in 4 years among children 15-16 years old. This caries prevalence is not markedly different from DMFS recordings among Scandinavian children living in fluoride areas.