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    Biostatistics. 2005 Jan;6(1):145-55.

    A Bayesian analysis of multivariate doubly-interval-censored dental data.

    Komárek A, Lesaffre E, Härkänen T, Declerck D, Virtanen JI.

    Biostatistical Centre, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Kapucijnenvoer 35, B-3000 Leuven, Belgium. arnost.komarek@med.kuleuven.ac.be

    A Bayesian survival analysis is presented to examine the effect of fluoride-intake on the time to caries development of the permanent first molars in children between 7 and 12 years of age using a longitudinal study conducted in Flanders. Three problems needed to be addressed. Firstly, since the emergence time of a tooth and the time it experiences caries were recorded yearly, the time to caries is doubly interval censored. Secondly, due to the setup of the study, many emergence times were left-censored. Thirdly, events on teeth of the same child are dependent. Our Bayesian analysis is a modified version of the intensity model of Harkanen et al. (2000, Scandinavian Journal of Statistics 27, 577-588). To tackle the problem of the large number of left-censored observations a similar Finnish data set was introduced. Our analysis shows no convincing effect of fluoride-intake on caries development.

    PMID: 15618533 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

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      Fluoride is used to prevent tooth decay. It is taken up by teeth and helps to strengthen teeth, resist acid, and block the cavity-forming action of bacteria. Fluoride usually is prescribed for children and adults whose h...