Effects of supervised daily dental plaque removal by children: II. 24 months' results.

After two school years of a supervised daily plaque-removal program in school, children in the treatment group showed a significant reduction in plaque and gingival inflammation scores compared with children in the control group. However, differences between groups in terms of plaque and gingivitis scores virtually disappeared during the summer vacation. The increment of dental caries was lower in the treatment group than in the control group, but the reduction, which averaged about 20 percent, was not statistically significant either for teeth or for surfaces. Although the 24-month findings of the present study indicate some degree of success in reducing plaque and gingivitis and a marginal effect in reducing the incidence of dental caries among children who engaged in daily, supervised plaque-removal in school, obvious drawbacks limit the value of this regimen.