Acidulated Phosphate Fluoride (APF) Foam Does Reduce Caries in Primary Teeth
The results of a double blind placebo controlled trial concerning the biannual professional application of APF foam and its effect on dental caries reduction were published in the Journal of Evidence Based Dentistry in 2007. The article entitled " APF foam does reduce caries in primary teeth". The author Dafydd Evans from the dental school at the University of Dundee in Scotland in the United Kingdom concluded that the biannual professional application of the APF foam over a period of 2 years was found to be effective in the reduction of dental caries in primary teeth.
Design:
A double-blind, cluster randomised, placebo-controlled trial was conducted.
Intervention:
Acidulated phosphate fluoride foam (APF; 1.23%) or placebo (fluoride-free) foam were applied by a dental practitioner twice per year for 2 years. Oral examinations were undertaken at baseline and after 2 years, following World Health Organization criteria for caries diagnosis.
Outcome Measure:
Caries increment was evaluated after 2 years.
Results:
In total, 392 children of age 3–4 years were recruited, of whom 209 were randomised to the test group and 183 to the control. One hundred and sixty-seven test and 151 control children completed the study. There was no mean caries increment (measured as decayed, missing or filled primary teeth; dmfs) in 38.3% of test and 26.5% of control group children. The figure for dmfs was 3.8 in the test and 5.0 in the control group (P 0.03). A significant difference was also observed in caries increment on approximal surfaces between test and control groups (P<0.01).
Conclusions
Bi-annual professional application of APF foam, over 2 years, was effective in reducing caries increment in primary teeth.
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