Prevalence of dental fluorosis in the district of Salem, Tamil Nadu, South India: A pilot study

Background: Tamil Nadu is one of the 18 states affected by fluorosis in India. The maximum tolerance limit of fluoride in drinking water specified by the World Health Organization (WHO, 1984) is 1.5 mg/l while it is proved to be above in many areas of Salem. Aims and Objectives: The aim of the following study is to identify the prevalence of dental fluorosis among children in the district of Salem. To compare the prevalence of dental fluorosis between different sexes and age groups. Materials and Methods: A pilot study was conducted in a private school where oral examination was done using mouth mirror and probe under sunlight in 965 students, for the presence or absence of dental fluorosis. As it was a pilot study, the fluorosis indexes were not taken into consideration. Results: In our study, 965 students were examined for dental fluorosis out of which, 624 were boys and 341 were girls. Dental fluorosis was present in 31.1% of boys, and 30.3% of girls 297 students out of 965 (30.8%) showed the presence of dental fluorosis. Conclusion: The present study showed that Salem is one of the districts affected by dental fluorosis in Tamil Nadu. An extensive study including the grades of fluorosis and estimation of water fluoride levels in different areas is required for better evaluation of the situation. Government should take actions to prevent fluorosis. Awareness should be given to the population to drink only the water supplied by the government