[Evaluation of a program for the prevention of dental caries in the school environment].

Evaluation of a dental caries prevention program in the school setting. We present the evaluation of a dental caries prevention program through periodic mouth rinsing with fluorides in the schools of Barcelona (Catalonia, Spain). Evaluation is performed at the fifth grade level of primary school in seven schools which participated in the program for four years. The caries prevalence in the last cohort of schoolchildren before the inception of the program is compared to the caries prevalence in the next cohort., the first to benefit from the program, Results show a 20% adjusted decline in caries prevalence, reaching up to 48% in one of the seven schools. Variation in results is discussed, as well as implications for caries control strategies in our context.