Abstract

Objective: To determine the comparative anti-carious efficacy of toothpaste having maximum fluoride concentration with the toothpaste of lesser fluoride concentration in locally manufactured toothpastes of Pakistan among school children of age 12-15 years.
Methodology: This Randomized Clinical Trial, extended over 24 months was conducted in a private school of Karachi. Regular school students of age 12-15 years were included from which 412 student were randomly selected and purposively assigned to Group A (n=202; already using 1000ppm of fluoride toothpaste) and Group B (n=210; provided with 1400ppm of fluoride toothpaste). Dental examination was performed on mobile dental units using examination instruments by a single trained examiner at baseline and after 8, 16 and 24 months using Decayed Missing Filled Teeth (DMFT) dental index. Descriptive analysis, Repeated-Measure Analysis of Variance and Two sample independent t-tests were applied to associate the time related changes in the mean DMFT scores of the two groups at baseline and follow-ups.
Result: Out of 412 students, 50.89% were males and 49.10% were females and mean age was 12.91±0.82 years. Mean DMFT Scores over 24 Months was 1.25 and 1.41 whereas, insignificant change was observed in Mean DMFT Scores giving p-value of 0.11 and 0.91 for group A & B respectively, from Baseline to 24 Months.
Conclusion: The comparative anti-carious efficacy of toothpaste having maximum fluoride concentration was not different as compared to the toothpaste of lesser fluoride concentration.

Key words: Dental caries, prevention, fluoride concentration, toothpastes.