Caries experience and treatment response among groups of Finnish, German and Russian children. A retrospective study between 1995 and 1989

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ABSTRACT

Aim

This study was designed to describe caries experience and treatment response in groups of children in three countries -
Finland, Germany and Russia - with different systems of public dental care.

Methods

Information concerning
permanent teeth (carious and filled surfaces, type of restorative treatment and applied sealants) was collected retrospectively from
existing dental records of 12-year-old children who had been treated in dental practices over six years, retrospectively between 1995
and 1989. Prior to conducting the study, research meetings were held among all participating personnel to standardise data collection
and terminology as much as possible. STATISTICS: The analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to test the difference between the
means of the various types of data derived from the three countries.

Results

Sealants were most commonly used in Finland at a rate
of 5.0/child and 3.3 in Germany, but only for a few children in Russia (0.1). Caries increments (cumulative figure of primary and
secondary caries surfaces over the six follow-up years of the study) differed very much between these countries. It was very high in
Russia (7.4) and in Germany (5.3), but low in Finland (1.6). All the caries surfaces were filled in Finland and in Germany; in Russia, the
cumulated number of filled surfaces was smaller than the respective number of caries surfaces (6.4/7.4). The most commonly used
restorative filling material was amalgam in Germany and in Russia, but composite or glass ionomer cements in Finland.

Conclusion

The cost effectiveness of sealant application programs should be considered as exemplified by the Finnish dental care system. The
data showed a need for preventive programs in Germany, and this has actually been emphasised since 1993. In Russia, there is an
urgent need to implement preventive programs for 6-year-old children and also to provide the necessary restorative
treatment.

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