Caries‐preventive effect of a dentifrice containing 2% sodium monofluorophosphate in a natural fluoride area in Denmark

A 3‐year, unsupervised, toothbrushing study with a double‐blind, controlled design was conducted to evaluate the caries‐preventive effectiveness of a 2 % sodium monofluorophosphate dentifrice among 1,407 7‐ to 12‐year‐old children residing in an optimal, natural fluoride (= 1.2–1.4 parts/10 6 ) area of Denmark. With the initial caries lesion as a differential, two levels of clinical caries diagnosis were applied in the quantitative evaluation of the effects. A comparison of the monofluorophosphate dentifrice with a null control dentifrice indicated that its use at home, coupled with regular motivation by home visitors, conferred about a 30 % reduction in dental caries increment over a 3‐year period, beyond those anticariogenic benefits assumed to have been provided by the waterborne fluoride.