The impact of a mobile dental system on a school community. Part I--Oral health status of schoolchildren.

This cross-sectional study was designed to compare the caries status of children 8-10 and 11-13 years of age, at schools visited by and schools not visited by the Mobile Dental System (MDS). A total of 918 children from six primary schools participated in the study. For the experimental schools, Noordgesig and Cavendish were paired in Group 1 (curative services and brushing programmes), while Riverlea and Wilhelmina Hoskins were combined in Group 2 (curative services and weekly fluoride mouthrinse programmes). Kliptown II and Ernest Hobbs were grouped together as the control schools (Group 3) where no services were provided by the MDS. Dental caries examinations were conducted using the WHO criteria (1987). Statistical analysis was done using chi-square tests, ANOVA and pairwise t-tests. A comparison of mean DMFT scores revealed differences between the control and both experimental groups in the 11-13 year old age group that were significant. The filled and missing components of the DMFT differed significantly for both age groups when experimental and control schools were compared, which clearly showed the impact of the service provided by the MDS. There were however, no differences in the decayed component indicating the limitations of the system in preventing or controlling the development of new carious lesions.