The fluoridation of public water supply is considered the most effective method of dental caries prevention for a community. Furthermore, it is a simple, economic, secure and efficient procedure. By using this method, associated with fluoridated toothpastes and preventive programs implanted in some cities, the country experiments a decrease in dental caries prevalence. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the evolution of the dental caries prevalence in 1971 (when the fluoridation of public water supply began), 1977, 1980, 1992 and 1996 in Piracicaba, SP, Brazil. Comparing the dental caries prevalence in male and female students from 7 to 12 years old, from 1971 to 1996, a 79% decrease in DMF index was observed. The 1996 epidemiologic survey showed that DMF index was 2.0 for the age of 12, surpassing the goal that the WHO had set for the year 2000. There was a statistically significant decrease in dental caries prevalence (at the level of 5%) when compared with dental caries prevalence in students from Piracicaba in these 25 years of fluoridation of public water supply. An attempt is made to compare the results of these epidemiologic surveys with those from other localities, as well as to analyze what the WHO aims for 2000 and 2010.
Dental caries; Fluoridation; Health surveys; DMF index