제주시 서부지역 수돗물불소농도조정사업 5년 경과후의 영구치우식예방 효과

Abstract

Objectives: The aim of this study is to evaluate the effect of the dental caries prevention on permanent teeth by the 5-year community water fluoridation program in the western area of Jeju, Korea. Methods: In 2005 dental surveys were carried out on 6 to 13-year old children in the fluoridated western and non-fluoridated eastern areas of Jeju. The number of the subjects in the fluoridated western area and the non-fluoridated eastern area of Jeju was 2,543 and 1,932 children, respectively. The obtained data from the survey were analyzed using the SPSS statistical package version 12.0(SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL, USA). The caries preventive effect was estimated by the differences in DMFT and DMFS indices between the program and control groups. Results: The DMF rate of 8-year old children was 49.6% in the fluoridated western area of Jeju, which was lower than that in the non-fluoridated eastern area of Jeju. The DMFT index of 8-year olds was 0.57 in the fluoridated western area of Jeju, which was also lower than that in the non-fluoridated eastern area of Jeju. The caries reduction rate of 8-year old children by the community water fluoridation program was estimated to be 47.7% in terms of the difference of DMFT index between the fluoridated western and non-fluoridated eastern areas of Jeju. Conclusions: These results suggest that the caries preventive effect on permanent teeth by the community water fluoridation program in the fluoridated eastern area of Jeju was so high that the community water fluoridation program should be expended to all Jeju areas.