Epidemiological surveillance of dental fluorosis in a city with a tropical climate with a fluoridated public drinking water supply

Marcoeli Silva de Moura, Pablo Renan Ribeiro Barbosa, Danila Lorena Nunes-Dos-Santos, Neusa Barros Dantas-Neta, Lúcia de Fátima Almeida de Deus Moura, Marina de Deus Moura de Lima

The scope of this study was to evaluate the prevalence and severity of dental fluorosis among 11 to 14-year-old schoolchildren in Teresina, Piauí, Brazil, which is a tropical city with a fluoridated public drinking water supply. It involved a cross-sectional observational study on a sample of 571 students in public and private schools. Informed Consent forms were approved for the data collection and the exams were conducted at the schools. Data were recorded on a questionnaire answered by the parents, regarding the socioeconomic and demographic characteristics and oral hygiene habits of the sample. The dental exam was performed qualified dental sugeons. The Thylstrup-Fejerskov (TF) index was used. The prevalence of fluorosis was 77.9%, and only 12.5% of the affected children had TF ≥ grade 3 (with aesthetic damage). The premolars were the teeth most affected by fluorosis. Among the students with the highest severity of fluorosis, 98.6% belonged to the lowest social bracket (> B2), 91.5% were born and had always lived in Teresina, 94.4% consumed water from the fluoridated public supply, 76% used toothpaste for children and 64% of mothers reported that they swallowed toothpaste. The prevalence of fluorosis was high, though the severity was low in individuals exposed to fluoridation since birth.