Turning the Tide on Tooth Decay with Fluoridated Milk in Chile
Dental caries remains one of the most widespread childhood health issues worldwide, impacting not only children’s physical health but also their social and psychological well-being. In Chile, where rural and socioeconomically disadvantaged communities often lack access to fluoridated water, fluoridated milk has become a vital tool in the fight against tooth decay.
With support from The Borrow Foundation, a dedicated team of researchers from Glasgow University, the University of Chile, and Diego Portales University has launched a comprehensive evaluation of Chile’s fluoridated milk programme for children and adolescents. This groundbreaking project aims to measure the programme’s effectiveness in reducing dental caries rates and to understand its impact on oral health inequalities among rural Chilean children.
Project Goals: A Closer Look at Fluoridated Milk’s Role in Oral Health
The core aim of the study is to assess how well the milk fluoridation programme works to reduce caries in rural schoolchildren, identifying trends and possible gaps in its delivery. Researchers will also explore the role of socioeconomic factors in children’s oral health outcomes and evaluate how the milk programme stacks up against other national oral health initiatives.
Specific objectives include:
1. Data Collection and Analysis: Gathering comprehensive data from the fluoridated milk programme, dental records, and other public health programmes to create a robust dataset.
2. Longitudinal Cohort Study: Developing a cohort to track caries trends in twelve-year-olds across rural Chile, where the programme is active.
3. Socioeconomic Impact Evaluation: Analysing how socioeconomic factors influence caries rates and assessing the programme’s ability to bridge health inequalities.
4. Comparative Evaluation: Comparing caries levels in areas with fluoridated milk programmes to those with community water fluoridation.
5. Impact Assessment: Measuring the added value of the milk fluoridation programme on top of other oral health initiatives.
A Structured Approach: Mapping the Journey to Impact
The study unfolds over four phases:
• Phase 1 (Months 1-3): Collecting and preparing data, ensuring data quality.
• Phase 2 (Months 4-9): Building a detailed cohort to evaluate trends in children’s oral health.
• Phase 3 (Months 10-18): Conducting in-depth analysis to examine the interplay between caries rates, socioeconomic factors, and programme effectiveness.
• Phase 4 (Months 19-24): Interpreting findings, comparing outcomes, and generating policy recommendations to guide Chile’s oral health strategies.
Why This Matters: A Path to Policy and Better Health
This study represents the first extensive evaluation of Chile’s fluoridated milk programme, offering insights that could reshape oral health policy. By quantifying the programme’s impact on caries prevention and identifying barriers that contribute to oral health inequalities, the findings aim to support data-driven policy and empower communities with healthier futures.
 Professor AO Celis, Professor, University of Chile, Principal Investigator (Chile) |  Dr Alex D McMahon, Reader in Epidemiology, Honorary Consultant in Epidemiology Principal Investigator (Glasgow) |
 Professor Fanny Petermann-Rocha, Associate Professor, Diego Portales University |  Professor DI Conway, Professor of Dental Public Health, Glasgow University Dental School |