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ePaper created 2018-05-25, 10:54:03 | version 1.38.0
Dental Tribune Middle East & Africa Edition | 3/2018 ORAL HEALTH 15 Fluoride varnish in primary dentition positively affects caries prevention benefit of fluoride varnish appli- cation. The report, titled “Assessment of the application of fluoride varnish on milk teeth to prevent the de- velopment and progression of ini- tial caries or new carious lesions”, was published online by IQWiG on 26 April 2018. Fluoride varnish prevents the development and progression of caries, research has shown. (Photograph: collusor/pixabay) By DTI COLOGNE, Germany: Whereas caries in adults and adolescents in Germany is declining, research has found that about 14 per cent of 3-year-olds in the country have cavities in their primary denti- tion. According to a report by the Institute for Quality and Efficien- cy in Health Care (IQWiG), fluoride varnish is effective in reminer- alisation of the tooth surface and prevents the development and progression of caries. Permanent teeth may be affected by caries at an early stage in the case of caries-affected primary teeth, as the enamel has not yet fully hardened. Because oral hy- giene and caries prevention can be challenging in young children, the use of fluoride varnish can be beneficial. For this reason, the IQWiG re- searchers investigated whether the application of fluoride varnish to primary dentition has advan- tages in comparison with stand- ard care without fluoride applica- tion by comparing the findings of 15 randomised controlled trials. In these, a total of 5,002 children were treated with fluoride var- nish, and 4,705 children received no such treatment, being the con- trol group. Children aged up to 6 years with or without caries of their primary teeth were included in the research. In several of the studies, further measures for caries prevention in addition to the application of flu- oride varnish were offered. These included training on oral hygiene, instruction on the correct tooth- brushing technique, and the pro- vision of toothbrushes and fluori- dated toothpaste. The follow-up observation period was mostly two years. The development of caries was investigated in all 15 studies; side- effects were investigated in nearly all of the studies. However, ow- ing to a lack of conclusive data, it is unclear whether fluoride ap- plication also has advantages re- garding further patient-relevant outcomes, such as tooth preser- vation, toothache or dental ab- scesses. There was no data on oral health-related quality of life. A clear advantage of fluoride var- nish was determined despite the very heterogeneous study results. After the application of fluoride varnish, caries in primary teeth was less frequent. More precise- ly, the fluoride treatment could completely prevent caries in ap- proximately every tenth child and would at least reduce progres- sion of caries in further children. Apparently, whether the children already had caries or whether their teeth were completely intact made no difference regarding the