Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Associate Professor, Department of Orthodontics, School of Dentistry, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences

2 Dentist

Abstract

Statement of Problem: Regarding the cariostatic effect of fluoride on caries reduction and with respect to successful experiments of school-based fluoride mouth rinse (FMR) programs in some countries, Oral Health Bureau of the Ministry of Health and Medical Education decided to start FMR program in all primary school after a national survey on oral health status in 1998.Purpose: The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effectiveness of this program in caries reduction of 9-year-old students after 2-3 years of using NaF mouth rinse in Shiraz primary schools.Materials and Methods: For this purpose, 200 students (100 boys and 100 girls) who were selected by simple random sampling were examined according to WHO criteria.Results: The mean DMFT/dmft were determined and compared with the available data of 9-year-old students before starting of the program (1998). Results showed that there were not statistically significant differences in mean DMFTs of the two surveys. Similarly, the differences in mean dmfts of the two studies were not statistically significant and the reduction rate was less than the anticipated amount by Oral Health Bureau.Conclusion: It seems that uncontrolled use of FMR with weak supervision may be the main cause of not-significant effects of the program. Key words: NaF Mouth Rinse, School-Based Program, 9-Year-Old Students, Shiraz