Peruvian Milk Fluoridation Project: longitudinal caries results

A community programme provided fresh fluoridated milk (0.25mg in 250mls) through a cascade of mothers' clubs to communities in the Peruvian city of Trujillo. Objectives: To report the caries increment over five years on two samples of children aged 2 years and 5 years at the start of the longitudinal study. Methods: All children from three communities aged 2 and 5 years were recruited to the study. Group 1 drank fluoridated milk daily, Group 2 drank the same quantity of milk and Group 3 had no milk. Caries data were recorded every year for five years. Results: At the start of the study there were for age 2 and 5 respectively 180 and 223 in Group 1, 220 and 229 in Group 2 and 191 and 183 in Group 3. During the subsequent 5 years there was over a 50% drop-out rate and at the end of the study there remained only 71 and 78 children in Group 1, 69 and 67 in Group 2 and 66 and 63 in Group 3. Although children were registered as consuming milk it was not possible to confirm this. The mean (SD) dmft increment over five years in those aged 2 was 3.5 (3.3) in Group 1, 1.9 (3.2) in Group 2 and 1.2 (3.2) in Group 3 (p<0.001). The mean (SD) DMFT increment in those aged 5 was 1.4 (1.5) Group 1, 0.8 (2.4) Group 2 and 1.0 (1.2) in Group 3 (p<0.035). Conclusions: Given the inability to show that fluoridated milk in this population was effective at reducing caries and the considerable population mobility it is not possible to recommend fluoridated milk as a method of preventing caries in this situation. This project was funded by the Borrow Dental Milk Foundation whose support is gratefully acknowledged.