Two years' effect on the primary dentition of mouthrinsing with a 0.2% neutral NaF solution.

The benefits to the primary teeth from a school-based fluoride mouthrinsing program are presented. Children in grades 1--4, residents of a fluoride-deficient community in New York, rinsed an average of 49 times during 2 school years using a 0.2% neutral NaF solution. Rinsing was done under the supervision of homeroom teachers. Differences in caries prevalence of 20.0% (dfs/child) or 23.8% (dfs/100s) were found in children who participated in the rinsing program for 2 years compared with baseline caries scores of children who never rinsed. Surface specific differences in caries prevalence after 2 years were: 27.5% for proximal surfaces, 24.1% for buccolingual surfaces, and 12.4% for occlusal surfaces.