Enamel Defects in 8-Year-Old Children in Fluoridated and Non-Fluoridated Parts of Cheshire

Abstract

The aim of this study was to compare the prevalence of developmental defects of enamel in fluoridated (1 ppm F) and non-fluoridated ( < 0.2 ppm F) communities in Cheshire, England. Eight-year-old children were examined under blind conditions. Only lifetime residents were included and only children with no history of dietary fluoride supplements. Significantly more children living in the fluoridated community (60%) had enamel defects compared to those in the non-fluoridated community (44%). In the fluoridated community, significantly more children whose parents claimed to begin brushing at an early age exhibited enamel defects.

Prevalence of caries and developmental defects of enamel in 9-10 year old children living in areas in Brazil with differing water fluoride histories

“…The proportions of children recorded as having diffuse opacities who had been continuous residents in the area fluoridated since 1963 were, nevertheless, similar to those reported for children from fluoridated areas in Ireland 3 but were lower than those seen in children from England where there is little fluoridation. 21,22,40 The percentage of children with demarcated opacities in the current study was also lower than those reported for children of comparable age in Italy 1 and Ireland. 3 Studies using a variety of indices have suggested that developmental defects of enamel in general and fluorosis in particular are both more prevalent in optimally fluoridated than in fluoride-deficient areas.…”

An Epidemiological Study of Developmental Defects of Enamel in a Group of Nigerian School Children

“…Similar fi ndings have been reported in Ghana and Guatemala 35 . Other studies 21,26 have also suggested that children from higher socioeconomic groups tend to have more diff use mott ling than children from low socioeconomic group. Studies on Nigerian and Guatemalan children have also reported a strong associati on between the prevalence of enamel hypoplasia and low socio-economic status 18,35 .…”

“…Reports in the literature on developmental defects of enamel from developed countries 11,16,17,24,25 show much higher values than those reported in developing countries 3,10,14,18,[20][21][22][23] in recent ti mes. A review of the reports of recently published studies have shown that the prevalence of enamel defects varies from 20-77% [3][4][5][9][10][11][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31] . All the reports give higher values for enamel defect when compared with the present study.…”

Toothpaste Utilization Profiles among Preschool Children

“…Fluoride ingestion in ''low but excessive'' quantities during tooth formation or early use of fluoride has been documented in a number of studies, as a risk factor for dental fluorosis in both fluoridated areas and non fluoridated areas [5][6][7][8][9][10]. Fluorosis affects developing, unerupted and erupted permanent teeth of children who are below the age of six years [11], which again affects appearance of teeth and causes emotional disturbance.…”