LONG-TERM EFFECT OF 2 PREVENTIVE PROGRAMS ON THE INCIDENCE OF PLAQUE AND GINGIVITIS IN ADOLESCENTS

THE EFFICACY OF TWO ORAL HYGIENE TRAINING PROGRAMS on the control of p laque and the prevention of gingival inflammation in adolescents was e valuated during a 3-year period. A population of 227 Brazilian schoolc hildren were divided into 3 groups. The first group received a compreh ensive program based on individual needs and included information sess ions pertaining to the etiology and prevention of dental diseases toge ther with extensive training in self-diagnosis and oral hygiene. In ad dition, an information session was arranged for parents and teachers o f these children. The second group received a less comprehensive progr am consisting of conventional oral hygiene training. The third group ( control) received no preventive program. The programs were presented t hrough frequent initial training sessions ensued by infrequent follow- up visits. During the experimental period, the two oral hygiene traini ng programs involved 3.5 and 1.5 hours per child, respectively. The ch ildren were examined clinically at baseline and annually over the next 3 years to assess plaque and gingival bleeding and the data were anal yzed by a multi-level variance component analysis. All children showed a perpetual improvement in their oral hygiene and gingival state duri ng the course of the study. However, the improvements observed in the comprehensive group were significantly better than that of the control group. Results from the less comprehensive group were not significant ly different from the control group. Longer exposure to the programs a ppeared to produce more improvement; children with higher plaque and g ingivitis scores prior to the program showed less favorable results; g irls exhibited better results than boys. In addition, anterior teeth a nd buccal sites showed more improvement. It was concluded that compreh ensive training in self-diagnosis and oral hygiene can be effective in maintaining satisfactory gingival health in adolescents.