[Epidemiologucal studies on the health condition of the masticatora organ as related to sugar consumption]. / Epidemiologische Untersuchungen zum Gesundheitszustand des Kauorgans in Abhängigkeit vom Zuckerkonsum

In the Republic of Cuba, the authors compared, using the method of dietary interviewing, the oral findings (DMF/T, OHI-S, PDI and plaque pH) of children with primarily caries-free dentitions (25 children), with a DMF/T index up to 2.0 (50 children) and with a DMF/T index of more than 6.0 (50 children) with their eating habits. The nutrition index determined for the sugar consumption in the last-mentioned group was by 38% (meals) and by 48% (between-meal snacks) higher than that found in the group of primarily caries-free children. The other indices were also significantly higher. The group with a DMF/T index up to 2.0 holds an intermediate place. Since all the children originated from the same region and since there were no differences in dental and oral care between the groups, the individual differences in oral hygiene and in diseases of the dental hard structures and of the periodontium must be attributed to the individual sugar consumption, the between-meal snacks seeming to play a dominating role.

[Results of collective caries prevention by means of rinsing with a 0.2 percent sodium solution after 88 months]. / Ergebnisse der kollektiven Kariesprävention durch Mundspülungen mit 0,2 prozentiger Natriumfluoridlösung nach 88 Monaten.

In the framework of a governmental program in the Republic of Cuba, mouth rinsing actions with a 0.2% sodium fluoride solution were accomplished in more than 900,000 children at a 14-day rhythm. The caries-statistical investigations performed in groups of 400 6-13-year-old children each showed a significant caries reduction (40-50%). The cost-benefit ration can be regarded as positive.