How To Prevent Tooth Decay In Children?


A new randomized clinical trial evaluating the use of topical fluorides in primary teeth is presented at the virtual 99th General Session & Exhibition of the International Association for Dental Research (IADR), held in conjunction with the 50th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Dental Research (AADR).

The evidence related to the use of silver diamine fluoride (SDF) for caries prevention in primary teeth is limited. So, this randomized clinical trial evaluated the effectiveness of 38% SDF, 5% sodium fluoride (NaF) varnish and placebo control in preventing approximal caries in primary teeth.


The study involved children aged between 4-6 years having at least one sound decay in the posterior teeth assessed with bitewing radiographs.

‘Semi-annual application of 5% sodium fluoride solution can prevent decay in children.’




The participants are randomly allocated into three intervention groups as follows: Group 1 = control (water), Group 2 = 5% NaF varnish (Duraphat) and Group 3 = 38% SDF (Topamine).

All these agents are applied semi-annually and the new caries development is assessed by the bitewing radiographic examinations at 6-, 12-, and 18-month follow up by two blind calibrated investigators.

The new approximal caries development rates of Group 1, 2, and 3 at the 18-month examination were 22.5%, 13.6%, and 24.3%, respectively (p

Based on these results, the semi-annual application of 5% NaF varnish is more effective than that of 38% SDF and the placebo control in preventing approximal caries in primary teeth.

Source: Medindia




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