Dental Visits and Professional Fluoride Applications for Children 72-108 Months Old

Meghan Sullivan Walsh August 9, 2010

Literature Review - St. Joseph/LMC Pediatric Dentistry

Dental Visits and Professional Fluoride Applications for Children 72 to 108 Months Old

Resident: Meghan Sullivan Walsh

Program: Lutheran Medical Center- Providence

Article Title: Dental Visits and Professional Fluoride Applications for Children 72 to 108 Months Old

Authors: Abed A. Hamasha, DDS, MS; Steven M. Levy, DDS, MPH; John J. Warren, DDS, MS

Journal: Journal of Dentistry for Children

Volume (number), Year, Page #’s; 73:1, 2006, pages 20-24

Major Topic: Study to report patterns of dental visits and fluoride application for children during ages 7 to 9.

Overview of Method of Research: Longitudinal study as part of Iowa’s Fluoride Study which collected data from children in Iowa ages 0-9 years.

Findings: The following authors used data collected from Iowa’s Fluoride Study to focus on fluoride application and dental visits for patients ages 6- 9 years old. Survey’s from the Fluoride study were sent to participants questioning their child’s frequency of dental visits and professional fluoride application from ages 0-9 years old. Using these results, the authors pulled data from ages 6-9 to discuss any patterns associated with this age bracket. The results showed that the percentage of children visiting a dentist ages 72-78 months to 102-108 months increased slightly from 76% to 83%. In addition, there was also an increase in professional fluoride application for 72-78 months, 53%, to 62% for ages 102-108 months. Dental visits involving professional fluoride application increased from 71% ages 72-78 months to 76% for 96-102 months and then declined to age 108 months, 74%. The authors did not find any connection with dental visits and fluoride application with regards to gender, whether the child visited the dentist before age 3, presence of primary teeth with caries, presence of caries in permanent teeth or mother’s education. There was, however, a connection with increased dental visits in a family with higher SES and higher family income. Fluoride applications were higher in children who had primary caries. The children who showed a consistent pattern of dental visits from age 7-9 received professional fluoride application 68-74% of the time. Finally, the percentages of children with dental visits and fluoride applications annually were more consistent after the age of 6.

Key Points: Summary: Children past age 6 are more likely to have a dental visit and receive professional fluoride applications. Higher SES and presence of primary caries is associated with a greater percentage of dental visits and fluoride application respectively.

Assessment of the Article: The data collected for this article was part of another study and should be noted when assessing these numbers. The results were fairly predictable.