The interruption in the water fluoridation related to dental caries prevalence in Jau-SP, Brazil

Objectives: The aim of this study was to compare the dental caries prevalence in 1998 in two large cities. The first one, Bauru, that has its water supply fluoridated since 1975, and the other one, Jau, in which fluoridation has occurred from 1986 to 1992. Methods: The sample was composed of 189 5-year-old children and 163 12-year-old children of both genders from those cities. The statistical analysis was made using Student’s "t" test, with a 5% level of significance. The results are as follows. Results:

The pattern represented by DMFT and the caries free percentage, did not show any significant statistical difference between the cities. Even thought been fluoridated for more than 25 years, Bauru did not present a better epidemiological pattern than Jau, where the fluoridation has been interrupted. Conclusions: These results are different from those obtained in the 80's, when the fluoridation interruption had caused the increase of the dental caries incidence. Possibly, the caries levels have been reduced due to the introduction of fluoridated dentifrice, associated with the ingestion of fluoride through other sources and the existence of the "halo" effect. Nowadays, it is very important to verify all the fluoride sources to which the population is exposed before the planning of public health programs.