Fluorosis and dental caries in 6–8‐year‐old children in a 5 ppm fluoride area

Abstract

Fluorosis levels and caries prevalence were evaluated in 152 children aged 6-8 yr residing from birth in an area with 5 ppm fluoride in the drinking water. Sixty-two of the subjects had mild fluorosis in both primary and permanent dentition, 31 were defined as moderate, and 4 cases had no signs of fluorosis; 14 cases had a more severe fluorosis level in the primary dentition as compared to 41 cases in which fluorosis was more severe in the permanent dentition. More primary dentitions were free of fluorosis in females than in males (P less than 0.05). No differences between males and females were found in the permanent dentition fluorosis. The decay rate in the permanent dentition gradually increased with increasing fluorosis severity, a finding not observed in the primary dentition. Reasons are discussed for the lower fluorosis level in the primary dentition and the more severe fluorosis in older age groups as well as the fluorosis severity difference by gender.

Patterns and Distribution of Dental Caries and Dental Fluorosis in Areas with Varying Degrees of Fluoride Ion Concentration in Drinking Water

“…Gender differences were observed in the prevalence of fluorosis in this study with males being more commonly affected compared to females at an OR of 1.53, these findings are in contrast to the reported findings [24,25] while another study [26] has reported that variable gender did not affect the occurrence of dental fluorosis. In this study it was observed that rural population was at a significantly higher risk of dental fluorosis compared to their urban counterparts.…”

Fluoride metabolism and fluorosis

“…39 As the primary dentition is exfoliated, fluorosis in deciduous teeth is seen to be of little importance. However, Mann et al 40 found that occurrence of primary tooth fluorosis was closely associated with fluorosis in the permanent dentition. Milsom et al 41 reported that children with fluorosis of their primary second molars were 1.86 times as likely to develop fluorosis in their permanent incisors than those with no primary molar fluorosis.…”

Water Fluoridation: A Critical Review of the Physiological Effects of Ingested Fluoride as a Public Health Intervention

“…Similar to counterintuitive histological changes in bone, the macroscopic appearance of increasing degrees of dental fluorosis was directly correlated to the degree of subsurface porosity [57]. Despite such histological changes suggesting that tooth decay prevalence may be higher among children with fluorosis, research findings have been mixed [58, 59]. There is no safe limit for fluoride ingestion in relation to dental fluorosis, but fluoridated levels exceeding 0.3 ppm have been associated with teeth mottling and discolouration [30].…”