Salt fluoridation and oral health.

Unlabelled: The aim of this paper is to make known the potential of fluoridated salt in community oral health programs, particularly in South Eastern Europe. Since 1922, the addition of iodine to salt has been successful in Switzerland. Goiter is virtually extinct.

Changes in dental caries in Zurich school-children over a period of 45 years.

In 16 rural communities of the Canton of Zurich, school-children of all age groups participated in dental examinations conducted at intervals of 4 years since 1963/64. The same standardised method was used throughout the entire period. This study documents the caries experience over a period of 45 years.

Further caries decline in Swiss recruits from 1996 to 2006.

Previous investigations showed a steady decline of the caries experience. The purpose of this study was to determine the caries experience of Swiss recruits in 2006 and to compare it to that of 1985 and 1996. The results of a parallel investigation which dealt with the periodontal health of the same recruits have already been published (Röthlisberger et al.

Urinary fluoride levels in Jamaican children in 2008, after 21 years of salt fluoridation.

Rationale: In 1984, the DMFT12 in Jamaican children was 6.7 (very severe). In 1987, national salt fluoridation was implemented (250 mg F-/kg salt).

STARCH-EXCESS4 is a laforin-like Phosphoglucan phosphatase required for starch degradation in Arabidopsis thaliana.

Starch is the major storage carbohydrate in plants. It is comprised of glucans that form semicrystalline granules. Glucan phosphorylation is a prerequisite for normal starch breakdown, but phosphoglucan metabolism is not understood.

Salt fluoridation--an alternative in automatic prevention of dental caries.

Despite great improvements in terms of reduced prevalence and amount of dental caries in populations worldwide, problems still persist particularly among the underprivileged groups of both developed and developing countries. Research and practical experience gained in several countries have demonstrated however, that dental caries can be prevented effectively through establishment of fluoride programmes. Water fluoridation, salt fluoridation, milk fluoridation and use of affordable fluoridated toothpastes play the major roles in public health.

Increasing the public health effectiveness of fluoridated salt.

This paper aims at assessing the public health potential of salt fluoridation schemes. There is now solid evidence which shows that the cariostatic effectiveness of universal salt fluoridation is equivalent to that of water fluoridation in both the permanent and primary dentition. In countries of continental Europe, only domestic salt is fluoridated, and its consistent use may be expected to warrant a 30% reduction of caries prevalence.

Cost aspects of salt fluoridation.

The cost of salt fluoridation in a given country depends primarily on the number of salt factories and on the technical level available in the country. Equipment required may cost U.S.

Monitoring salt fluoridation programs through urinary excretion studies.

This paper reviews problems associated with urinary collection for the estimation of fluoride exposure and recent findings in this context. After intake of a salted meal at noon, children aged 9 to 14 excreted on average 45 microgF/h. Morning and nocturnal excretions were only 16 microgF/h with the exception of those children who ate bread made with fluoridated salt (25 microF/h).

Salt fluoridation in Central and Eastern Europe.

For decades Central European countries have been interested in preventive dentistry. Water fluoridation played a major role in the former German Democratic and Czechoslovak Republics and a minor one in Poland. These schemes were abandoned after 1989.

Overview of salt fluoridation in Switzerland since 1955, a short history.

After an early start in 1955, the introduction and acceptance of fluoridated salt (FS) for domestic use was slow in Switzerland because up to around 1980 there was no consistent strategy for the support of the use of FS. Part of the dental community still supported water fluoridation, while others criticized the insufficient concentration of fluoride in the salt (90 ppm). All Swiss cantons have a historical monopoly on salt trade, and until 1983 most cantonal governments resolved to authorize the sale of fluoridated domestic salt.

Use of the Significant Caries Index in quantifying the changes in caries in Switzerland from 1964 to 2000.

Objectives: To follow the changes in the Significant Caries Index (SiC) and the DMFT during the period 1964-2000 in children aged 12 and 15 in the Canton of Zurich.

Methods: Examinations of random samples of children in 16 communities of the Canton were repeated every 4 years from 1964 onwards using the same standards for diagnosing caries.

Results: In the 12-year-olds, the children in the low tertile had virtually no DMF-experience from 1980 on.

Successes and drawbacks in the caries-preventive use of fluorides--lessons to be learnt from history.

Water fluoridation was the first breakthrough in the practice of preventive cariology on a community level and has remained one of the cornerstones of prevention in dentistry. The concepts regarding the mechanisms of the caries-inhibitory effect, however, have changed in several respects. Today there is general agreement that topical effects on the erupted enamel are most important.

Changes in dental caries 1953-2003.

In the first half of the 20th century, indices and methods of conducting surveys of the level of dental diseases were developed. Modern epidemiological studies began in the fifties and many reliable studies have been conducted after 1960. In the following decades, a substantial decline of caries prevalence was documented in the majority of the highly industrialized countries, with reductions of lifetime caries experience exceeding 75%.

[History of fluoride prevention: successes and problems (literature review)].

Fluoride prevention has a significant role in complex caries prevention, together with the appropriate diet and oral hygiene. The aim of the present review is--considering mainly the public health aspects--to give information on changes of the methods of fluoride prevention, and the changing views on pathomechanisms, as well as statements in the course of the last 50 years, based on present scientific evidence. The first great breakthrough in caries prevention was the introduction of water fluoridation between 1945-1950 in the USA and Canada.

[Caries prevalence among students in the city of Winterthur: comparison with the city of Zurich and 16 communities in the canton of Zurich].

The aim of the present survey was to assess the caries prevalence in schoolchildren of the city of Winterthur in the year 2002. A simple random sample of 1000 schoolchildren was drawn. 65% of the children participated in the standardized investigation.

[Caries prevalence among students in 16 Zurich districts in the years 1992 to 2000].

Standardized dental examinations of schoolchildren were regularly carried out since 1964 in 16 rural communities of the Canton of Zurich. In 1964, there were no 14-year-old schoolchildren free from caries; in the Nineties about half of the 14-year-olds had a caries-free permanent dentition (DMFT = 0). From the year 1992 to 2000, the caries prevalence (DMFT) of 14-year-olds decreased once again, by 31%.

Dentistry between pathology and cosmetics.

In ancient and medieval times, the prevalence of caries and periodontal disease varied. There were no treatments for dental hard tissue, but dental cosmetics played an important role. In the late 19th century, caries levels reached a maximum in Europe and North America after refined sugar became a cheap staple food.

[Decline of caries prevalence in Swiss military recruits between 1970 and 1996].

In 1996, 416 military recruits (aged 20.4) were dentally examined. The mean DMFT based on clinical findings was 4,8 (including extracted premolars).

Urinary fluoride excretion by children 4-6 years old in a south Texas community.

This study evaluated urinary fluoride excretion by school children 4-6 years old who were living in a south Texas rural community that had concentrations of fluoride in drinking water supplies generally around the optimal level. We took supervised collections of urine samples in the morning and afternoon at school, and parents of the participating students collected nocturnal samples. We recorded the beginning and end times of the three collection periods and then determined the urinary volume and urinary flow for each of the periods.

Water fluoridation results in Basel since 1962: health and political implications.

The population of the canton Basel-City has been provided with fluoridated water since May 1962. This paper presents a summary of basic findings from evaluations of this public health intervention. Standard methods were used for assessing dental caries, enamel fluorosis, urinary fluoride, and other data.