Data analysis on the prevalence of dental caries in Barretos city (S. Paulo, Brazil) after ten years of water fluoridation

Abstract

Data of baseline and ten-year surveys of the prevalence of dental caries in children 3 to 14 years old, and young adults of 14 to 19, in Barretos (S. Paulo State, Brazil), were analysed to verify the reduction observed in caries in the primary and permanent teeth during the ten-year period of water fluoridation. The reduction in the prevalence of dental caries observed is similar to the ones obtained in the pilot studies in Brazil and other countries. In the age group 7 to 10, 50% of children do not have any permanent teeth attacked by caries, and 51.6% in the group 3 to 5 are in the same condition as regards their primary teeth.