to identify the Effective Fluoride Concentration In Toothpaste For Dental Caries Prevention after 18 months of randomized controlled trial.

In developed countries, well-controlled clinical trials have investigated the effective fluoride level in toothpaste and provided irresistible data in relation to the caries controlling efficacy of tooth pastes. But there has been no such data reported in our part of the world. This indicates the need to determine the effective concentration of fluoride in locally manufactured tooth pastes for accomplishment of the goal of prevention against dental caries.

This will be a Parallel Group, Double-Blind, Randomized Controlled Trial, over a period of 18 months. The study will be conducted in a randomly selected school of Karachi city. Participants will be the cohort of regular school children aged 12-14 years. Sample size for the present study attained was 330 (165 in both groups), expected attrition rate will be kept as 15%, so the total sample size is 330 + 50 = 380 (190 in each group).

Inclusion Criteria:

1. Regular school children of 12-15 years
2. Presence of at least four molars

Exclusion Criteria:

1. Non- consenting cases
2. Medically/physically compromised children
3. Children under any kind of parallel fluoride regime (systemic or topical)
4. Children consuming diet that is different from routine dietary practices
5. Children using toothpaste with greater than 1100 ppm and less than 500 ppm of fluoride
6. Children found with rampant caries
7. Children found with all filled molars
8. Children with any oral infection abscess, periodontitis etc
9. Dentition with malocclusion
10. Children undergoing orthodontic/prosthodontic treatment
11. Children with Temporo mandibular joint disorder
12. Children who missed the baseline examinations
13. Loss to any follow-up cases