Fluorosis risk from early exposure to fluoride toothpaste

Swallowed fluoride toothpaste in the early years of life has been postulated to be a risk factor for fluorosis, but the epidemiological evidence is weakened by the fact that most of the relevant studies were done in developed countries where an individual is exposed to multiple sources of fluoride. Objectives: To quantify the risk of fluorosis from fluoride toothpaste in a population whose only potential source of fluoride was fluoride toothpaste. Methods: Case-control analyses were conducted to test the hypothesis that fluoride toothpaste use before the age of 6 years increased an individual's risk of fluorosis. Data came from a cross-sectional clinical dental examination of schoolchildren and a self-administered questionnaire to their parents. The study was conducted in Goa, India. The study group consisted of 1189 seventh grade children with a mean age of 12.2 years. Results: The prevalence of fluorosis was 12.9% using the TF index. Results of the crude, stratified, and logistic regression analyses showed that use of fluoride toothpaste before the age of 6 years was a risk indicator for fluorosis (OR 1.83, 95% CI 1.05–3.15). Among children with fluorosis, beginning brushing before the age of 2 years increased the severity of fluorosis significantly ( P < 0.001). Other factors associated with the use of fluoride toothpaste, such as eating or swallowing fluoride toothpaste and higher frequency of use, did not show a statistically significant increased risk for prevalence or severity of fluorosis. Conclusions: Fluoride toothpaste use before the age of 6 years is a risk indicator for fluorosis in this study population.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/75437/1/j.1600-0528.1998.tb01957.x.pd

Linear enamel hypoplasia and historical change in a central Australian community

The document attached has been archived with permission from the Australian Dental Association. An external link to the publisher’s copy is included.Background: The current study extends the use of linear enamel hypoplasia (LEH) to examine the historical changes in living conditions encountered by Aboriginal people at Yuendumu who were born between 1890 and 1960. LEH provides health information beyond written records and gives insight into the relationship between individual health and living conditions during initial and ongoing contact with Europeans. Materials and Methods: The dental casts of 446 people, collected as part of the University of Adelaide longitudinal study of growth and development, were recorded for the presence of hypoplastic defects. Defects were recorded according to the Development Defects of the Enamel (DDE) standards and assigned to developmental units based on their crown position. Results: The frequency of LEH on the permanent dentitions increased five-fold from the 1890-1929 birth cohort to the 1955-1960 cohort. LEH also affected earlier developing enamel units. Deciduous defects did not show a strong temporal trend but overall prevalence was comparable to other disadvantaged groups. Conclusion: The changes in permanent LEH frequency and age distribution correspond to altered living conditions with the worst hypoplasia recorded after settlement of Aboriginal people at Yuendumu. Prior to that period LEH was comparable to precontact Australian populations indicating that resettlement had a dramatic impact on childhood morbidity.J Littleton and GC Townsen