The severity of enamel disturbances at Site 3 (1463 m) was not consistent with the low fluoride concentration in drinking water, and was more severe than would be expected from the subjects' normal urinary fluoride values. Location, fluoride in magadi, other elements found in magadi, and malnutrition are variables which may be contributing to the severity of dental enamel disturbances occurring in Site 3. Altitude was a variable which differentiated the locations.

Please be advised that this information was generated on 2018-05-10 and may be subject to change.Mabelya L, van Palenstein Helderman WH, van't Hof MA, Konig KG: Dental fluorosis and the use of a high fluoride-containing trona tenderizer (magadi), Community Dent Oral Epidemiol 1997; 25: 170-6. © Munksgaard, 1997 Abstract -It has recently been suggested that magadi, a high-fluoride trona, which is added in cooking to tenderize certain vegetables and beans in two villages in Tanzania, significantly contributed to the prevalence and severity of dental fluorosis. This report aims to substantiate the significance of magadi as a determin ant of dental fluorosis. Eighteen villages in four geographical areas (districts) with water supplies containing 0.2 to 0,8 mg/L of fluoride were selected. All schoolchildren aged 12 to 17 years (n= 1566) who had been born and raised in these villages were examined for dental fluorosis according to the ThylstrupFejerskov Index. Dietary history was recorded. The fluoride content of magadi samples was determined and the urinary fluoride excretion of pre-schoolchildren was assessed. The prevalence of dental fluorosis in nine coastal villages where tea and seafish were regularly consumed ranged from 7% to 46%. Severe (pitting) dental fluorosis was rarely seen. The low fluorosis levels observed in non-magadi consuming communities in coastal villages indicate that a fluoride content of up to 0.8 mg/L in drinking water is acceptable under the prevailing conditions of temperature and diet. In contrast, the prevalence of dental fluorosis in nine villages located inland at 1500 m altitude, where fluoride-containing magadi was con sumed, ranged from 53% to 100%, and severe (pitting) fluorosis was highly prevalent, ranging from 18% to 97%. The village with the highest fluoride content in the magadi samples collected showed the highest level of fluorosis. The uri nary fluoride excretion of pre-schoolchildren from different villages corresponded with the level of fluorosis and the fluoride content in the magadi samples of the respective villages. Data on dental fluorosis from the magadi-consuming commu nities provide strong evidence that consumption of magadi was the major deter minant of the observed high prevalence and severity of fluorosis in inland villages at 1500 m altitude.

No abstract

This study aimed at comparing the Thylstrup-Fejerskov index (TFI) and the Dean's Index (DI) which were applied on three communities with different severity of dental fluorosis. A total of 1565 children aged between 11 and 18 yr with a mean age of 14.7 were examined for dental fluorosis with the TFI and 1155 of these children were also examined with the DI. The measurement error for the TFI was 0.50 (10 scale point) compared to 0.53 for DI (6 scale point). The Kappa values and the measurement-remeasurement correlation appeared to be better for the TFI. No difficulties were encountered in applying the TFI in contrast to the DI, which caused uncertainties in assessing the "questionable" and "very mild" scores, and this may explain the relatively better reproducibility of the TFI. The correspondence between both indices was determined. TFI 0 corresponded well with DI 0. The conversion values for TFI 1, 2, 3 and 4 into DI scores were 0.3, 0.8, 1.4 and 2.4 respectively. The TFI 5-9 corresponded with DI score 4. TFI could discriminate the severe forms of dental fluorosis which were categorized in Dean's highest score 4. TFI was able to reveal more dental fluorosis than DI in communities with minor and moderate dental fluorosis. In the community with severe dental fluorosis where more than 85% of all teeth exhibited a DI > or = 1, both indices revealed a comparable prevalence of dental fluorosis. The TFI is considered a near ideal instrument.

A 4‐yr mixed‐longitudinal study to determine the prevalence of caries in 7–13‐yr‐old Tanzanian children was started in 1984. The parameters considered were age, locality, Socio‐economic Status, and sex. Locality was composed of urban (Morogoro town), rural (Morogoro District), and rural areas in the District with an average fluoride level of 0.5 ppm or more in all drinking water present. SES was established based on the occupation of the father or mother and on housing conditions. Overall, the reproducibility of the dental conditions studied (D2MT/S and D3MT/S) was high, with lower scores for the conditions including early enamel lesions (D2MT/S). The reproducibility of the SES scoring system was high (χ= 0.96 and χ= 0.90), but the association over the 2 yr of measurement (1984 and 1988) was weak (r = 0.50). There were no restorations found. The percentage of children with caries increased with increasing age from 12–17% at age 7 to 37% at age 13. The statistical tests (ANOVA) revealed an age effect for all conditions studied in 1984, 1986, and 1988 and a locality effect in 1988 only. The mean D3MT‐scores varied between 0.15 and 0.24 at age 7 to 0.76 at age 13, while the mean D3MS‐scores varied between 0.27 and 0.31 at age 7 to 1.18 at age 13. In general, the caries prevalence observed was low. Children living in naturally fluoridated rural areas had significantly lower caries scores than children in non‐fluoridated areas.