Evidence map›Paper›PMID 34294158›Full record

ArticleIsrael journal of health policy research2021

Dental health of preschool children after two-years of a supervised tooth brushing program in Southern Israel.

Lena Natapov, Dan Dekel, Vadim Pikovsky, Shlomo Paul Zusman

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Israel journal of health policy research, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
6citing papers in PubMed
0.9field-weighted citation impact, top 26% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

6 citing papers in PubMed, 9 citations in OpenAlex.

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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Lena NatapovDental Health Division, Ministry of Health, Jerusalem, Israel.
Dan DekelDental Health Division, Ministry of Health, Jerusalem, Israel. dandekel@gmail.com.ORCID 0000-0002-6870-8852
Vadim PikovskyAshkelon Regional Health Office, Ministry of Health, Ashkelon, Israel.
Shlomo Paul ZusmanDental Health Division, Ministry of Health, Jerusalem, Israel.
Israel Ministry of Health · IL

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundSupervised tooth brushing is an important part of leading national oral health improvement programs in different countries. With the cessation of water fluoridation in 2014, a new program was immediately required to provide community-based caries prevention, especially amongst young children. The aim of this study was to determine whether a supervised tooth brushing program (STBP) in kindergartens could reduce dental caries amongst preschool children, when compared with children from the same community who did not participate in the program. The study was performed 2 years after the start of the program.

methodsTwo Jewish and two Arab local authorities (one participating and one control) were randomly chosen. In each local authority, 4 kindergartens (children aged 5) were randomly chosen, giving a total of 16 kindergartens. Children in the intervention group brushed once daily at kindergartens, with fluoridated toothpaste, for two school- years. All the children were examined using the WHO Oral Health Survey Methods Ed.4.

resultsTwo hundred eighty-three five-year-old children were examined, 157 of them Jewish (86 participants in STBP, 71 non-participants) and 126 Arab (59 vs 67 respectively). Among Jewish children, the fraction of untreated decayed teeth was 61% in the participant group and 65% for non-participants, and amongst the Arab children 69% vs. 90% respectively. The fraction of treated decayed teeth for the participant group was 37% compared to 29% for the non-participants among Jewish children, whilst for the Bedouin group it was 23% vs. 8% respectively.

conclusionsAfter 2 years, supervised tooth brushing with fluoride toothpaste shows a favorable effect. This study suggests that dental health of children participating in STBP was better than the control group. Fewer carious teeth and more treated carious lesions were recorded in this group. This program can be applied to low SES communities nationwide. Guidelines for fluoride concentration in toothpaste for children should be re-considered based on high caries levels.

Indexed as

Dental CariesToothbrushingChild, PreschoolFluoridesHumansIsraelFluoridesDmft and its componentsPre-school dental servicesSchool dental servicesSupervised tooth brushingTreated fraction of affected teethUntreated fraction of affected teeth

Identifiers

PMID34294158
PMCPMC8296643
OpenAlexW3183566897

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.