Evaluation of the comparative effectiveness of fluoride mouthrinsing, fluoride tablets, and both procedures in combination: interim findings after five years.

This article presents five-year interim findings of an eight-year clinical trial designed to compare the relative caries-preventive benefits of weekly fluoride mouthrinsing, daily fluoride tablet administration, and both procedures combined. Children in kindergarten and first grade residing in Springfield, Ohio, a nonfluoridated community, were assigned randomly in school to one of three groups that (1) rinses once a week in school with a 0.2 percent neutral NaF solution; (2) chews, rinses with, and then swallows daily in school a neutral 2.2 mg NaF tablet; or (3) carries out both procedures. At baseline (1981), 1,640 participants were examined clinically using the DMF surface index. After five years, 789 children were available for reexamination. Findings show that subjects in the combination group experienced a mean caries increment of 1.47 DMFS, 16.5 percent lower than the mean score of 1.76 DMFS for children in the tablet group and 31.3 percent lower than the 2.14 DMFS for those in the rinse group. Only the difference in incremental caries scores between the combined fluoride procedure and the fluoride rinse was statistically significant (P less than .05). Despite the finding of an additive caries-preventive benefit among children who followed the combined regimen, it would be premature to judge which procedure is best before results of the final examinations become known.