Journal of Dental Research, Vol 70, 1029-1034, Copyright © 1991 by International & American Associations for Dental Research Online Journals
Dental caries and fluoride exposure in Western Australia
P. J. Riordan
Community Dental Services, Health Department of Western Australia, Como.
Most water supplies in Western Australia (WA) have been fluoridated since
about 1968, but one region has persistently resisted. Supplement use has
been encouraged there, and fluoride toothpaste is widely used. Caries
prevalence and caries experience in children in Perth (F- 0.8 mg/L) have
declined steadily since fluoridation, but in the Bunbury region (F- less
than 0.2 mg/L), caries measures remain higher than in Perth. The purpose of
this study was to correlate the magnitude and timing of fluoride exposure
with caries experience. Altogether, 592 randomly selected children born in
1978 (mean age, 11.8 years) in Perth and the Bunbury region provided
residence and fluoride exposure information for the periods from birth to
four and from four to 12 years of age. Caries experience was recorded
clinically in accordance with DMFT and WHO criteria. Sixty-one percent had
been continuous residents of fluoridated areas from birth to four years,
and 51% between the ages of four and 12 years. Fluoride supplement use was
low. By the age of 1.5 years, 42% had used toothpaste. The prevalence of
caries was 0.38 in Perth and 0.61 in the Bunbury region, and mean DMFT
scores were 0.89 (SD, 1.39) and 1.57 (SD, 1.60), respectively. Bivariate
analysis revealed all fluoride exposure to be associated with reduced
caries experience, but there were large correlations between some
variables. When unconditional logistic regression analysis was used, the
most important (p less than 0.05) odds ratios associated with no caries
experience were for residence in a fluoridated area from four to 12 years
of age and early use of toothpaste.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
