Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / In 1973 the state of Indiana initiated a program to fluoridate the water in rural
school systems to a concentration of 4.0 ppm. Today, the optimal concentration is 3.5
ppm. When it was initiated, school water fluoridation was a popular method of providing
fluoride supplementation to children who didn't have access to community-fluoridated
water. Today, only Indiana runs a school water fluoridation program, and the CDC has
stated that continuation of these efforts should be based on caries risk, alternate
preventive measures, and periodic evaluation of program effectiveness. The purpose of
this study was to assess the efficacy of the Indiana school water fluoridation program in
order to determine if children participating in the program develop less caries with no
increased risk of fluorosis. Four hundred sixty students were examined from
Northwestern Consolidated School Corporation in Shelby County (fluoridated school)
and North Knox School Corporation in Knox County (non-fluoridated school). Three
hundred ninety-one students were statistically evaluated, 204 from the fluoridated school
and 187 from the non-fluoridated school. A thorough visual examination was conducted
by the same examiner collecting data on DMFS, defs, and fluorosis in grades 1-6. DMFS
scores were 28 percent less for fluoridated students compared with non-fluoridated
students (0.95 versus 1.32). Although the effect of fluoridation status on caries in
permanent teeth is not statistically significant, the author believes this difference may be
clinically significant. Analysis of defs scores showed fluoridated students with 6 percent
less defs than non-fluoridated students, although the results were not statistically
significant. Only 3.92 percent of the students at the fluoridated school showed fluorosis,
while 10.16 percent showed signs of mild fluorosis at the non-fluoridated school.
Conclusion: While not statistically significant, children attending the school fluoridated
with 3.5 ppm of fluoride developed less caries and suffered no increase of fluorosis
compared with children attending schools not participating in the school fluoridation
program. Further analysis is necessary through statewide blind examinations at numerous
school systems to further assess the efficacy of the Indiana School Water Fluoridation Program.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:IUPUI/oai:scholarworks.iupui.edu:1805/4352 |
| Date | January 2002 |
| Creators | Garabedian, Andrew Hrair, 1973- |
| Contributors | Mallatt, Mark E. (Mark Edward), 1950-, Weddell, James A. (James Arthur), 1949-, Christen, Arden G., 1932-, Sanders, Brian J., Dean, Jeffrey A. |
| Source Sets | Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis |
| Language | en_US |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
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