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Risk factors and prevalence of dental fluorosis and dental caries in school children of North India

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Abstract

The aim of the study was to assess the prevalence of dental fluorosis, dental caries, and associated risk factors in the school children of district Fatehgarh Sahib, Punjab, India, using a cross-sectional study design. Oral health status of children aged between 8 and 15 years was assessed using World Health Organization (WHO) 2013 criteria. Dental fluorosis was assessed using Dean’s index, and dental caries were recorded using decayed, missing, filled/decayed, extracted, filled (DMF/def) indices. Four hundred school children were examined, of which 207 were in the 8–11-year-old group and 193 were in the 12–15-year-old group. The overall prevalence of dental fluorosis was 4.1%, which might be linked to a high concentration of fluoride in drinking water at certain locations of rural Punjab. The prevalence of dental caries was 36.5% with a mean DMF score of 0.3 and def score of 0.6. Risk factors for dental caries include oral hygiene behavior and sugar consumption patterns. The study highlights the need to increase awareness about the oral health and hygiene among the school children in India.

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Acknowledgements

We greatly acknowledge the support from the State School Authority of Punjab and all the schools who participated in this study. RK would like to thank the Department of Health Research (DHR), Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, for providing the Fellowship Training Programme in Environmental Health under Human Resource Development Health Research Scheme via letter number V-25011/25(19)2013/HR dated 16 October 2014.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Public Health, Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER), Chandigarh, 160012, India

    Kavita Plaka & Khaiwal Ravindra

  2. Department of Environment Studies, Panjab University (PU), Chandigarh, 160014, India

    Suman Mor

  3. Centre for Public Health, Panjab University (PU), Chandigarh, 160025, India

    Suman Mor

  4. Department of Oral Health Sciences, Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER), Chandigarh, 160012, India

    Krishan Gauba

Authors
  1. Kavita Plaka
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  2. Khaiwal Ravindra
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  3. Suman Mor
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  4. Krishan Gauba
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Khaiwal Ravindra.

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Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Contributorship statement

KP and RK designed and conceptualized the study and conducted the field work. SM and KG helped to develop the intellectual content of the protocol and manuscript including review/editing.

Data sharing statement

A MPH thesis is available on the topic and can be provided by e-mail to Dr. Ravindra Khaiwal.

Ethical approval

The protocol was approved by the Dissertation Approval Committee of the Institute and Departmental Peer Review committee. The permission from the State School Authority of Punjab was also received via the letter number MDMS/MHN/2014/2643 dated 20 May 2014.

Additional information

Key highlights:

• School children of 8–15 years old were examined for dental fluorosis in a rural district, which have a prevalence of 4.1%.

• Major risk factor for fluorosis includes groundwater fluoride content and tea consumption.

• Prevalence of dental caries was 36.5%, affecting rural children more compared to their counterparts.

• Risk factors for dental caries include oral hygiene behavior and certain sugar consumption patterns.

• There is a need to increase awareness about the oral health and hygiene among school children.

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Plaka, K., Ravindra, K., Mor, S. et al. Risk factors and prevalence of dental fluorosis and dental caries in school children of North India. Environ Monit Assess 189, 40 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-016-5684-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-016-5684-6

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