Oral Health inSchoolchildren in the District of Frýdek-Místek in 1997 and 1999, I. part.Caries experience and dental status

Overview

The three year preventive intervention focused to the improvement of oral healthpreventive knowledge, behaviour and to the increase of intake of fluoridated salt and of othernatural fluoride sources was conducted in the district of Frýdek-Místek in the North Moraviancounty of the Czech Republic. The intervention was composed of regular district-wide informationspread by local journals, broadcast and TV and by lectures among school-children, theirparents, pediatricians and dentists.Oral health status and urine fluoride content together withknowledge in fluoride prevention and eating habits related to fluoride intake were recorded inschool-children in the onset (1997) and by the end (1999) of the intervention and data gainedwere compared. Altogether 240 6th to 8th graders of elementary schools in the district town andin three rural localities were included in the study.Oral health: Caries experience decreased inthree of four examined localities, in the city of Frýdek-Místek (meanDMFT2.92 vs. 1.90),Třinec(mean DMFT 2.73 vs. 1.94) significantly and in Jablunkov (4.10 vs. 3.75) non-significantly. Inthe remaining rural locality, Vratimov, the DMFT non-significantly increased (1.19 vs. 2.31).The three-years oral health and fluoride intake promoting intervention in the district of Frýdek-Místek improved significantly oral health and caries preventive knowledge in schoolchildrenaged 12 to 14 years.

Key words:
fluoride – intervention study – oral health – school-children