The effectiveness of a tooth brushing programme for children in the Ehlanzeni district of Mpumalanga

Abstract

To evaluate the effectiveness of a tooth brushing programme in a community trial in the Ehlanzeni district, Mpumalanga. Two samples of 250 children, 8-10 years old and in grade 3, were randomly selected from schools in the district. The intervention group comprised children who had taken part in the brushing project since it was incepted in 2012. The control group comprised children who had not participated. Caries was scored according to WHO Criteria (1997) and odontogenic infections using the PUFA/ pufa index. These data and the treatment needs of the two groups were compared statistically. The prevalence of dental caries (primary and permanent teeth) was 57.2%, intervention group and 74.8%, control group. The intervention group recorded DMFT of 0.15 and a dmft of 1.82, whilst the control group recorded 0.38 and 2.50 respectively. Odontogenic infections occurred in 22% of the intervention group (mean 0.40), compared with 36% in the non-intervention group (mean 0.82). The intervention group presented with 30.8% less dental caries and 63.6% less odontogenic infections than the control group. The results of the study show that this targeted population approach resulted in significantly less caries in the intervention group than in the control group.