Effect of school-based fluoride mouth-rinsing on dental caries incidence among schoolchildren in the Kingdom of Tonga

Abstract

Since 1998, the authors have been working to improve the oral health of children at kindergartens and primary schools in the Kingdom of Tonga (Tonga). Our primary activity has been a school-based fluoride mouth-rinsing (FMR) program. FMR is performed using 7-10 mL of a 0.2% NaF solution for 1 min once per week at each school. In the present study, we evaluated the effect of school-based FMR on dental caries incidence among Tongan schoolchildren. A total of 109 children aged 10 years were evaluated at six primary schools on Tongatapu Island. The FMR group comprised 46 children who had participated in the school-based FMR program for at least 5 years 6 months; the control group comprised 63 children who had participated in the school-based FMR program for 1 year or less. During standardized dental examinations, decayed, missing, and filled teeth were counted by a single dentist at each school. The school-based FMR program effectively decreased the number of dental caries. A school-based FMR program may thus be very beneficial in preventing caries among children in Tonga.