Enamel opacities in 8-year-old Icelandic children in relation to their medical history as infants.
OBJECTIVE
Opacities in tooth enamel were found in 34% of 8-year-old Icelandic children in 1970. This study aimed to measure the current prevalence of non-fluorotic enamel opacities in the maxillary incisors and to determine if their occurrence was related to significant events in the medical history.


METHODS
The prevalence of demarcated enamel opacities was recorded photographically by calibrated examiners.


METHODS
Subjects lived in Reykjavík, Iceland.


METHODS
A random sample of 290 children aged eight years was examined in 1997-8. Parents were asked if the child had a history of (i) colic as an infant and/or (ii) repeated middle-ear infection.


RESULTS
Demarcated white enamel lesions, not resembling fluorosis, were seen in 41% of children (teeth photographed wet) rising to 51% (teeth photographed dry). Enamel hypoplasia was seen in 11% of wet teeth and 15% of dry teeth. Parents of 94/288 children (32.6%) reported that their child had infant colic and 52/94 (55.3%) had received medication. Three episodes or more of middle-ear infections per year were reported for 123/290 (42.4%) children. Significant association was seen between the presence of demarcated enamel opacities and a history of otitis media. Diffuse enamel opacities, assumed to be fluorosis, were not associated with events reported from the medical history.


CONCLUSIONS
Non-fluoride opacities of teeth are still prevalent in Icelandic children especially those with a history of infections in infancy. Without a careful diagnosis these opacities might be confused with fluorosis.
Arnadóttir
I B
IB
Faculty of Odontology, University of Iceland, Reykjavík, Iceland. iarnad@hi.is
Sigurjóns
H
H
Holbrook
W P
WP
D002327:Cariostatic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D002648:Child; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003085:Colic / Q000150:complications / Q000188:drug therapy; D003743:Dental Enamel / Q000002:abnormalities*; D005459:Fluorides / Q000627:therapeutic use; D006801:Humans; D007055:Iceland; D007223:Infant; D008487:Medical History Taking; D010033:Otitis Media / Q000382:microbiology; D014100:Toothpastes / Q000627:therapeutic use
D002327:Cariostatic Agents; D014100:Toothpastes; D005459:Fluorides