Effects of free dental filling interventions on early childhood primary tooth caries in Shanghai Jiading district

Abstract

PURPOSE To provide scientific basis for the establishment of oral health care polices in Jiading, and to evaluate the effectiveness of a free dental filling intervention conducted for childen in Jiading district. METHODS Nine hundred and eighteen children of 3-5 year old from two kindergartens with similarities in living environments and economic conditions were enrolled in this study. Children in the intervention group received both oral health examination and free filling of shallow and moderate caries once a year for 3 years, while children in the control group received only oral health examination once a year. The data were analyzed with SPSS 20.0 software package for Chi-square test. RESULTS Total caries prevalence，mean dft and CSI of the two groups had no significant difference in the first year. There was significant difference between the two groups in caries prevalence, mean dft and CSI (which were 43.90%, 2.86 and 7.34, respectively) after 3 years of the interventions. CONCLUSIONS Free dental filling intervention programme is effective in early prevention and control of caries.