Dental caries and fluorosis in children from high and low fluoride areas of Morocco
Haikel, Y.; Cahen, P.M.; Turlot, J.C.; Frank, R.M.
Asdc Journal of Dentistry for Children 56(5): 378-381
1989
ISSN/ISBN: 1945-1954 PMID: 2788666 Document Number: 330603
The purpose of this study was to estimate the prevalence and the severity of dental caries and dental fluorosis in primary and permanent teeth of 582 subjects, aged 7 to 16 years, from the fluorosis area of Khouribga and the non-fluorosis area of Beni Mellal, Morocco. At age-group 7-10, where 67.8 percent of primary teeth were present, about 35 percent of the children were affected in the high-fluoride area and the community fluorosis index was 0.86. The percentage and average number of erupted permanent teeth were higher in Beni Mellal than in Khouribga for 11-12 and 13-14-year-old age-groups. Significant differences in caries prevalence were observed between the high- and low-fluoride areas. In both regions, high and low prevalence of dental caries was observed in the primary and permanent teeth, respectively.