| Summary: | Objective: To evaluate an educative/preventive program to control caries disease in 160 babies, ages ranging from 1 to 21 months. Method: The selected children, healthy and without caries, were examined once every three months during 15 months. In each appointment, the biofilm was removed with gauze and a baby’s toothbrush, according to the child’s age. After visual examination, the number of teeth and eventual alterations were recorded. Mothers were guided to perform suitable preventive activities through personal orientation, posters and slides. There were educational lectures at the beginning of the research, as well as every six months. The oral examination and the hygiene training of the mothers were conducted at the health units, community centers and a university. Aiming to verify the changes in the feeding and hygiene habits, questionnaires were applied at the beginning of the study and 12 months later. Results: The majority of the mothers hadn’t completed elementary school and the family income ranged from 1 to 3 minimum salaries. After 15 months, the drop-out rate was 23.8%. The incidence of caries, which was 7.3% in the 122 babies, evaluated with an average of 0.25 teeth with caries. Including the black spots, the incidence of caries was 9.8%, with an average of 0.4 teeth with caries. Conclusion: The educative/preventive program contributed to a lower caries incidence, and it stimulated the adoption of healthier habits. There was a decrease of 33% in night time bottle-feeding, and an increase of 20.9% in oral hygiene.
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