Fluoride Varnish’s Effectiveness in Caries Prevention on Erupting First Molars

Objectives: To determine the caries prevention effectiveness of fluoride varnishes applied to erupting firsts permanent molars (EFPM).
Methods: After ethics approval, a randomized, single blind, age and sex paired clinical trial was performed. Two experimental groups and one control were obtained with 180 children (60 per group) aged 6 to 7 years from a public school in Santo Domingo. Group 1 received fluoride varnish application every 3 months, Group 2 every 6 months, and the Control Group received tooth brushing with a 1450-ppm fluoride toothpaste. All the children received instructions to brush their tooth twice a day with a 1450-ppm fluoride toothpaste and dietary recommendations. Examiners calibrated in the International Caries Detection and Assessment System (ICDAS) criteria evaluated the surfaces of the EFPM. Only sound EFPM were selected at baseline, and these were evaluated at 6 and 12 months. A one-way ANCOVA was calculated to compare the mean ICDAS’ scores between the groups.
Results: A total of 157 children completed the study. Statistical significant differences were found between the three groups in the percentage of surfaces of EFPM with caries lesions (p = 0.041). According to the post hoc analyses with Bonferroni correction, the percentage of surfaces with caries lesions of Group 1 (45.1%) was significantly lower than those of the Control Group (53.3%, p = 0.049). In contrast, the ICDAS’ mean score of Group 2 (51.1%) was not significantly different from the Control Group (p = 1.00), or Group 1 (p = 0.189).
Conclusions: Fluoride varnish considerably reduces the proportion of surfaces that develop caries lesions; it also maintains significantly sound dental surfaces taking into account the ICDAS’ criteria. Based on thesee results of this clinical trial, it is recommended to applythat fluoride varnish be applied every 3 months in children of high-risk populations.