Fluoride Varnish Efficacy in preventing Early Childhood Caries

Objectives: To assess incidence of dental caries over a period of 6 months in 3-4 years old.
To assess efficacy of fluoride varnish (5% Sodium fluoride) in prevention of early childhood caries in 3-4 years old in Rohtak district, Haryana.
Methods: A 6 - month, prospective, cluster-randomized, concurrent parallel, controlled, open trial in community settings was conducted at anganwadi centers (AWCs) and private schools of Rohtak district among 3-4 years old preschool children. 515 children with parental consent were randomly assigned to two arms: experimental group with single application of fluoride varnish and control group withno intervention. Dental examinations at baseline and after 6 months were used to compute net dental caries increment per child. Dental examination was performed by a trained dentist using criteria of International Caries Detection and Assessment System
Results: The incidence of caries was 2.154±3.051 at the end of 6 months. It was found that net caries increment was significantly lower in the intervention group (0.879±3.270) compared to the control group (2.154±3.051) and prevented fraction of 59.19% .Unadjusted odds ratio for caries incidence was 1.441 times higher in the control than in the experimental group. This significant difference could only be attributed to Fluoride Varnish.
Conclusions: The incidence of caries in young children is very high. Fluoride is an effective preventive tool and significantly reduces caries even with a single application.