Comparisons of caries prevalence of children with different daily toothbrushing frequencies

Abstract

Clinical caries examinations, supplemented by bite-wing radiographs, were conducted on 290 schoolchildren. The children ranged from 12-15 yr of age and were residents of a fluoride-deficient community in New York State, USA. The children were divided into 2 groups based upon their stated daily toothbrushing frequency, namely, those brushing once or less per day and those brushing twice or more per day. Mean DMFS [decayed, missing and filled surfaces] and DMFT [decayed, missing and filled teeth] scores were recorded for children in both brushing categories. More frequent brushing was associated with less caries activity. For females and males-females combined the differences in mean DMFS and DMFT scores between those children brushing 2 times a day or more were significantly different (P < .01) from the group brushing once a day or less. The caries scores for males in these 2 brushing groups were marginally significant (P < .05). Fluoride-containing dentifrices were used by 90% of the children. The inverse relationship between brushing frequency and caries activity may be related to the more frequent fluoride contact when the children brush.