Kumar Vaibhav, Gaunkar Ridhima, Thakker Jasleen, Ankola Anil V, Iranna Hebbal Mamata, Khot Atrey J Pai, Goyal Virinder, Ali Amel, Eldwakhly Elzahraa
Department of Public Health Dentistry, TPCT's Terna Dental College, Nerul, Navi Mumbai 400706, Maharashtra, India.
Department of Public Health Dentistry, KLE Academy of Higher Education and Research, Vishwanath Katti Institute of Dental Sciences, Nehru Nagar 590010, Belagavi Karnataka, India.
Children (Basel). 2023 Feb 1;10(2):286. doi: 10.3390/children10020286.
This study aims to assess the prevalence of dental fluorosis and its association with dental caries, oral health behaviors, oral-health-related quality of life and parents' perceptions among preschool children in the 3-5-year-old preschool children living in the Belagavi district of Karnataka, a non-endemic fluorosis region.
A descriptive cross-sectional questionnaire-based study was conducted among 1200 individuals of the preschool population from 48 government-sponsored child-care development centers in Belagavi, Karnataka, over a three-month period. They were examined following the Dean's fluorosis index (1942) and dmft (decayed, missed, and filled) scores of the participants were also recorded. Parents' perception of oral health was assessed using the self-administered Early Childhood Oral Health Impact Scale (ECOHIS). SPSS software (version 20) was used for statistical analysis. Chi-square test computed categorical data. One-way ANOVA test was used for multiple group comparisons. < 0.05 was considered statistically significant.
Of the 1200 children examined, 10 (0.83%) children exhibited dental fluorosis. Of the 10 children having fluorosis, six had fluorosis present on two or more of their primary teeth, and four had fluorosis on four or more teeth. The mean dmft score was 3.01 ± 1.38 to 3.60 ± 1.72 in 3-5-year-old children, respectively, with statistical significance difference ( < 0.001). The mean score of oral health-related quality of life was 10.74 ± 2.06, which was significantly correlated to the child's age and parents' education level ( < 0.05).
The study shows a negligible amount of prevalence of dental fluorosis in the non-endemic fluorosis residential district. It also elucidates that children from lower and lower-middle socioeconomic status are more prone to suffer from dental fluorosis as compared to other groups. The mean score of ECOHIS increased proportionally with the caries experience, indicating a significant relationship between the dmft and ECOHIS score. Deciduous dentition fluorosis is often neglected, especially in areas that are not considered endemic for fluorosis and with only optimum fluoride levels in their groundwater, which supports the disease's nature as multi-factorial and shows that a broader perspective is of prime importance to assess, diagnose, and prevent dental fluorosis among the preschoolers, thereby appraising their overall health and hygiene status.
本研究旨在评估卡纳塔克邦贝拉加维区3至5岁学龄前儿童中氟斑牙的患病率及其与龋齿、口腔健康行为、口腔健康相关生活质量和家长认知之间的关联，该地区为非地方性氟中毒地区。
在卡纳塔克邦贝拉加维的48个政府资助的儿童保育发展中心，对1200名学龄前儿童进行了为期三个月的基于问卷的描述性横断面研究。按照迪恩氟中毒指数（1942年）对他们进行检查，并记录参与者的dmft（龋、失、补）得分。使用自我管理的幼儿口腔健康影响量表（ECOHIS）评估家长对口腔健康的认知。使用SPSS软件（版本20）进行统计分析。卡方检验计算分类数据。单因素方差分析用于多组比较。P<0.05被认为具有统计学意义。
在接受检查的1200名儿童中，有10名（0.83%）儿童患有氟斑牙。在这10名患有氟斑牙的儿童中，6名儿童的两颗或更多乳牙出现氟斑牙，4名儿童的四颗或更多牙齿出现氟斑牙。3至5岁儿童的平均dmft得分分别为3.01±1.38至3.60±1.72，具有统计学显著差异（P<0.001）。口腔健康相关生活质量的平均得分为10.74±2.06，与儿童年龄和家长教育水平显著相关（P<0.05）。
该研究表明，在非地方性氟中毒居住地区，氟斑牙的患病率极低。研究还阐明，与其他群体相比，社会经济地位较低和中下阶层的儿童更容易患氟斑牙。ECOHIS的平均得分随龋齿经历成比例增加，表明dmft得分与ECOHIS得分之间存在显著关系。乳牙氟斑牙常常被忽视，尤其是在那些不被认为是氟中毒流行地区且地下水中氟含量仅处于最佳水平的地区，这支持了该疾病的多因素性质，并表明从更广泛的角度评估、诊断和预防学龄前儿童的氟斑牙至关重要，从而评估他们的整体健康和卫生状况。
