Treatment of incipient caries in children with fluoride gel.

Aim: The aim of this study was to determine the effect of the treatment of acute incipient caries in children with fluoride gel by following up the development of the white carious spots.

Methods: Clinical observation on 182 white spot carious lesions in 27 children aged 7 to 16 was carried out for 12 months in two groups--experimental and control. The experimental group received 4 applications of 0.42 fluoride gel. Four stages of development of incipient caries were assessed: early stage, advanced stage, disappearance of the spot and formation of defect. The oral hygiene status was assessed with the indexes of Green-Vermillion and Silness and Lue. Evaluations were performed at the beginning of the study and at the end of the 1st, 2nd, 6th and 12th month.

Results: The results at the end of the study showed arrest of development of macula cariosa alba in the control group within the study period. In the experimental group reverse development and curing of macula cariosa alba was mainly observed.

Conclusion: The fluoride gel we propose as well as the method of its application demonstrated very satisfactory results which gives us grounds to recommend it for the treatment of acutely developing initial caries on the vestibular surfaces of the permanent teeth in children from 7 to 16 years of age.