Resumen

NUNEZ MENDIETA, HA. Fluorosis in children from localities in Paraguay with high levels of fluoride in waters for human consumption. Mem. Inst. Investig. Cienc. Salud [online]. 2011, vol.9, n.1, pp.35-42. ISSN 1812-9528.

ABSTRACT Dental fluorosis involves physicochemical alterations of the tooth in development and presents esthetical and functional problems for the patients with repercussions in public health because of the high costs of the restoration treatment. It is important to detect the first sign of chronic exposure to fluoride as predictor of skeletal fluorosis. The objective was to determine the frequency and severity of dental fluorosis in school children of 12 years old in localities of Paraguay with a fluoride level equal or higher than 1.5 ppm in waters for human consumption. The sample was composed by 340 school children aged 12 years old. Fifty percent of the studied children presented some degree of dental fluorosis. The frequency of dental fluorosis by sex was 54% for boys and 46% for girls. The locality that showed more cases of dental fluorosis was Loreto (86%) followed by Yatayty del Norte (66%). The locality with less cases of fluorosis was Ñacunday with 22% of the study population. The fluorosis category most frequently observed (31%) was the "moderated", degree 2 of the modified TF index of dental fluorosis and the less observed (4%) was the "very severe", degree 4 of the modified TF index. The presence of dental fluorosis was observed in all localities. The frequency and severity of fluorosis in this research were not related to the fluoride concentration in water consumption.

Palabras clave : dental fluorosis; water; fluoride; Paraguay; children.

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