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| ORIGINAL RESEARCH |
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| Year : 2008 |
Volume
: 19 | Issue : 4 | Page
: 297-303 |
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Prevalence of dental fluorosis and associated risk factors in 11-15 year old school children of Kanyakumari District, Tamilnadu, India: A cross sectional survey
Jagan Kumar Baskaradoss1, Roger B Clement1, Aswath Narayanan2
1 Department of Community Dentistry, Rajas Dental College and Hospital, Dr. MGR Medical University, Tamilnadu, India
2 Department of Public Health Dentistry, Tamilnadu Government Dental College and Hospital, Chennai, Tamilnadu, India
Correspondence Address:
Jagan Kumar Baskaradoss
Department of Community Dentistry, Rajas Dental College and Hospital, Dr. MGR Medical University, Tamilnadu
India
 Source of Support: None, Conflict of Interest: None  | Check |
DOI: 10.4103/0970-9290.44531
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Objectives: This study presents data on the prevalence and severity of dental fluorosis in 11-15-years-old school children of Kanyakumari district, TamilNadu, India, and also the relationships between prevalence of dental fluorosis and selected risk factors.
Materials and Methods: A total of 1800 children, from all the nine blocks of Kanyakumari district, studying in classes 6-10 were examined using type III examination. The assessment form designed specifically for this study was used while examining each student.
Results: Dental fluorosis was present in 15.8% (285 children) of the study population and the community fluorosis index was calculated to be 0.27. The prevalence of dental fluorosis varied from as low as 1.4% in some blocks to as high as 29.4% in some others. There was a significant difference in the level of dental fluorosis between rural and urban residents ( P < 0.001). The prevalence of dental fluorosis was higher in children who consumed pipe water as compared to children who consumed ground water. 65% of the children with dental fluorosis had no caries, indicating the positive effects of fluoride.
Conclusions: The prevalence of dental fluorosis can be attributed to the level of fluoride in the drinking water as it exhibited a step-wise increase when the water fluoride levels increased from 1.5-1.7 ppm. Measures for defluoridation of drinking water before distribution has to be taken in the high prevalence blocks to lower the burden of dental fluorosis in this community. |
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