Abstract
Fluoride has a preventive effect on dental caries. However, excessive/insufficient ingestion of fluoride can lead to the development of dental fluorosis/increased risk for dental caries respectively. The objective of this study was to estimate fluoride concentration in drinking water of Kathmandu valley. It was a community based cross-sectional study in which drinking water samples were collected from municipal water supply and bottled water. Municipal water supply was collected according to eight water schemes in Kathmandu valley and as for bottled water, 35 samples were randomly collected according to different brand names available in the commercial market. The samples were analyzed for fluoride content by SPADNS colorimetric method as per standard procedure set by American Public Health Association (APHA 2012).The results revealed that the fluoride content in drinking water samples was below the permissible limit (<0.5 ppm) as per Nepal’s drinking water quality standards and WHO guidelines. Hence, implementation of water fluoridation program can be initiated for municipal water supply and bottled water for prevention of dental caries to optimize the oral health of people.
Highlights
Fluoride, a natural element, is found at varying concentrations in all drinking water.[1]
An excessive level of fluoride leads to various health issues, mostly on dental and skeletal fluorosis which often leads to vulnerabilities in the bones and teeth
Fluoride is beneficial to the teeth, mostly in helping eliminate dental caries; admittedly, it does decontaminate water as it kills various bacteria which may be present there.[17]
Summary
A natural element, is found at varying concentrations in all drinking water.[1]. 4 The major health issues caused by fluoride when it is exceeding the limit value are dental fluorosis, teeth mottling, skeletal fluorosis and deformation of bones in children as well as in adults.[5,6] Approximately 62 million people including 6 million children suffer from fluorosis. Research on oral health effects of fluoride have shown caries preventive effect in drinking water.[11] International studies support the widely held view that the majority of bottled waters available contain negligible fluoride in terms of its dental health benefits.[12,13,14] it is desirable to drink water having a fluoride concentration less than certain value. Drinking water with fluoride concentration (cf) > 1.5 mg/l needs treatment (WHO 1994) This information would be very useful in planning and implementation of oral health primary prevention programs in future. Owing to the sparse information on the subject of fluoride level in drinking water in Kathmandu Valley, the objective of which was to estimate fluoride concentration in drinking water of Kathmandu Valley
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