Fluorosis en dentición temporal en un área con hidrofluorosis endémica

Objective. The aim of the present study was to estimatethe prevalence of dental fluorosis in primary dentition of aSan Luis Potosi children population, and its association tofluoride concentration in drinking water and urine. An additionalobjective was, to develop, validate, and test a specificindex for dental fluorosis in primary dentition. Materialand methods. From May 1997, to January 1999, we conducteda cross-sectional study to assess the prevalence ofdental fluorosis in primary dentition. Study subjects were100 children aged 3-6 years, selected at random fromthree kindergartens in three risk areas of San Luis Potosi.The specific index of dental fluorosis for primary dentition(Dental Fluorosis for Primary Dentition Index-DFPDI) wasvalidated by estimating fluoride concentrations in enamelof teeth with and without dental fluorosis. The Kruskal-Wallistest was used to assess the association between fluorideconcentrations in drinking water and urine, with dental fluorosis;the association between risk area and dental fluorosiswas assessed with the Mantel-Haenszel c2 test. Results.The prevalence of dental fluorosis in primary dentition was78%; primary molars were most affected in both maxillaeand the predominant color was a non-glossy white appearance.We found a strong direct correlation (r=0.93) betweenfluoride concentrations in primary teeth and theDFPDI. Associations were found between fluoride concentrationsof drinking water and urine, with dental fluorosis(Kruskal-Wallis p=0.00001), and between risk area and dentalfluorosis (Mantel-Haenszel c2 p=0.00001). Conclusions.DFPDI allowed adequate identification and grading of dentalfluorosis in primary dentition. It is important to detect theinitial toxic effects of fluoride exposure to predict dentalfluorosis in permanent dentition and skeletal fluorosis.