Dental Caries In Adults Caries In Places With And Without Fluoridated Water In The Campinas Area, São Paulo

Abstract

The objective of this article was to verify dental caries prevalence and treatment needs in the Campinas area, State of São Paulo, according to the gender and fluoridation of the public water supply, in 1998. The criteria used were in accordance with the recommendations of the World Health Organization (WHO). The sample comprised 535 adults (35 to 44 years of age), from 8 municipalities representative of the area of Campinas, State of São Paulo. The Mann-Whitney and Chi-squared tests were used (p<0.05). DFMT in this population was 21.3 (IC95%=20.7-21.9) The components decayed and missing were higher in the men (p<0.05). DMFT was higher in the area without fluoridation, as well as the missing component (p<0.05). The restored treatment needs were the most frequent. The number of teeth present was 19.7 (IC95%=18.9-20.5), being lower in the area without fluoridation (p<0.05). The results revealed high decay experience, however, it suggests a possible beneficial effect of the of water fluoridation in this group in the control of the decay once the area with fluoridation presented lower average of DMFT and of the lost component.