Abstract
ABSTRACT Objectives The aims of this study were to evaluate the prevalence and severity of dental fluorosis and to assess the impact of dental fluorosis on oral health related quality of life (OHRQoL) of children living in two Peruvian towns with different water fluoride levels. Methods A sample of 292 children between 11 and 14 years of age and both genders were selected among public and private primary schools in the 2 towns. Clinical oral examination was carried out using Dean’s index to assess the prevalence and severity of dental fluorosis and the Child Perceptions Questionnaire 11-14 (CPQ 11-14) was used to evaluate the association between dental fluorosis and OHRQoL. Results Dental fluorosis prevalence was 75% and the moderate score was the most frequent (36%). The two towns have a low socioeconomic level and children from public schools predominate (74%). There was no impact of fluorosis on OHRQoL. It is possible that adolescents living in a context with very similar dental appearance of their peers build a sense of identity different than other populations, which can influence in their OHRQoL perception. Conclusions Even though dental fluorosis prevalence was very high it did not have impact on OHRQoL.
Highlights
[1] Reductions in dental caries experience were recorded in many countries and they were attributable to the widespread use of fluoride [2], they are considered an essential part of oral health programs [3]
In the last decades an increase in dental fluorosis prevalence could be noticed in areas with high, adequate and low fluorides level in public water, and even in areas with no fluoridated water [4,5]
The fact that fluoride level found in water does not justify this very high dental fluorosis prevalence and severity, it leads to the hypothesis that the public water should not be the etiological factor
Summary
The use of fluorides has contributed for caries prevalence decrease in the world. [1] Reductions in dental caries experience were recorded in many countries and they were attributable to the widespread use of fluoride [2], they are considered an essential part of oral health programs [3].On the other hand, in the last decades an increase in dental fluorosis prevalence could be noticed in areas with high, adequate and low fluorides level in public water, and even in areas with no fluoridated water [4,5]. Epidemiological studies carried out in different countries showed that dental fluorosis prevalence in children varied from 10.1% in Peru [6] to 91, 9% in Mexico [7]. There are few studies in the world that evaluated the impact of dental fluorosis in OHRQoL [8,9,10] and none was carried out in Peru due to the fact that there were no validated OHRQoL’s instruments in Peru. The perception questionnaire for children aged 11 to 14 years (CPQ11-14) was translated and validated for the Spanish of Peru. This instrument has satisfactory psychometric properties that can be tested in Peruvian children [11,12]. The main aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence and severity of dental fluorosis and to assess the impact of dental fluorosis on oral health related quality of life (OHRQoL) of Peruvian children
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