Association of caries experience in adolescents with different preventive measures

Objectives: To assess the preventive measures which were associated with the striking caries decline observed in Marburg (Germany) between 1982 and 2002 and to investigate the relationship between caries prevalence and the type of educational level. Methods: 1,237 twelve-year-old children were examined in four different types of schools. D3MFT and the number of teeth with fissure sealants were registered. Information about preventive measures carried out in the past was collected by structured questionnaires. To compare the mean caries scores of various subgroups, Mann-Whitney U-tests and ANOVA were performed. Variables associated with caries were included in a binary logistic regression analysis. Results: In 2002 the mean D3MFT score amounted to 0.78. In 80.7% of the pupils fissure sealants were observed, on average 3.5 teeth with sealants were recorded per child. There were significant differences between the mean D3MFT scores and the mean number of teeth with fissure sealants among the various school types. Conclusions: Use of fluoride supplements in the past, use of fluoridated table salt and fissure sealants were the factors in the binary logistic regression analysis which were significant in preventing caries.