Dental Benefits of Limited Exposure to Fluoridated Water in Childhood

The effect of limited exposure to fluoridated water in childhood is of potential importance in highly-mobile modern society, but the subject has not been well-studied. This longitudinal study assessed caries experience and S. mutans proportions from fissure plaque in school-children who lived for at least the three years of the study in a non-fluoridated community (0.2 mg/L). Residence histories permitted division of the cohort into those who had lived all their lives in non-fluoridated communities, and those who had lived for some time previously in a fluoridated community. The children were aged 6-7 years at the beginning of the three-year study. Children with previous residence in the fluoridated communities developed 26.8% less caries in their permanent teeth during the study than did the children who had lived in non-fluoridated communities all their lives (p = 0.04), and had 29.8% less caries after three years (p = 0.02). Differences between the groups in S. mutans proportions from fissure plaque, sampled at six-monthly intervals throughout the study, could not be demonstrated. The dental benefits observed could not be attributed to socio-economic differences between the groups. Despite evidence that the benefits of limited ingestion of fluoridated water are topical in nature, the fact that many of the affected teeth in this study were unerupted at the time of the fluoride exposure means that pre-eruptive benefits cannot be ruled out.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/66708/2/10.1177_00220345860650110801.pd

Prevalência de fluorose dentária em escolares de Brasília - Distrito Federal Prevalence of dental fluorosis in school children from Brasília - Federal District

Com a finalidade de avaliar a prevalência de fluorose dentária, foi realizado levantamento epidemiológico em Brasília, Distrito Federal, comunidade na qual o teor de flúor na água de abastecimento público é de 0,8 ppm. Foram examinadas 833 crianças de ambos os sexos com idades variando entre 8 e 12 anos, escolares e residentes em Brasília desde o nascimento. Os exames foram realizados em escolas públicas, em cadeira comum, sob luz natural e campo seco obtido com auxílio de gaze. Por meio do exame dos dentes permanentes anteriores superiores foi levantado o índice de fluorose entre os sexos. O percentual de crianças livres de fluorose apresentou-se elevado (85,36%), enquanto 14,64% mostraram níveis de fluorose dentária entre muito leve e moderado.<br>An epidemiologic study was conducted to evaluate the prevalence of dental fluorosis in Brasilia - Federal District, a community where fluoride concentration is 0.8 ppm in drinking water. The sample consisted of 833 school children of both sexes, aged between 8 and 12, who have been living in Brasilia since birth. The anterior upper permanent teeth were examined and HOROWITZ fluorosis index was applied to evaluate pathological occurrences. No sex differences were observed in dental fluorosis prevalence. The authors found a high number of dental fluorosis free children (85.36%) and 14.64% of the sample showed light and moderate levels of fluorosis