title: Risk factors and prevalence of dental fluorosis and dental caries in school children of North India.
abstract: The aim of the study was to assess the prevalence of dental fluorosis, dental caries, and associated risk factors in the school children of district Fatehgarh Sahib, Punjab, India, using a cross-sectional study design. Oral health status of children aged between 8 and 15 years was assessed using World Health Organization (WHO) 2013 criteria. Dental fluorosis was assessed using Dean's index, and dental caries were recorded using decayed, missing, filled/decayed, extracted, filled (DMF/def) indices. Four hundred school children were examined, of which 207 were in the 8-11-year-old group and 193 were in the 12-15-year-old group. The overall prevalence of dental fluorosis was 4.1%, which might be linked to a high concentration of fluoride in drinking water at certain locations of rural Punjab. The prevalence of dental caries was 36.5% with a mean DMF score of 0.3 and def score of 0.6. Risk factors for dental caries include oral hygiene behavior and sugar consumption patterns. The study highlights the need to increase awareness about the oral health and hygiene among the school children in India.
authors.affiliation: School of Public Health, Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER), Chandigarh, 160012, India.
authors.forename: Kavita
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Plaka
authors.affiliation: School of Public Health, Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER), Chandigarh, 160012, India. Khaiwal@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: Khaiwal
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ravindra
authors.affiliation: Department of Environment Studies, Panjab University (PU), Chandigarh, 160014, India.|Centre for Public Health, Panjab University (PU), Chandigarh, 160025, India.
authors.forename: Suman
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Mor
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral Health Sciences, Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER), Chandigarh, 160012, India.
authors.forename: Krishan
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Gauba
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004245:DMF Index; D003731:Dental Caries / Q000453:epidemiology*; D060766:Drinking Water / Q000737:chemistry; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D005260:Female; D005459:Fluorides / Q000032:analysis; D009050:Fluorosis, Dental / Q000453:epidemiology*; D006801:Humans; D007194:India / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D009910:Oral Hygiene; D015995:Prevalence; D012307:Risk Factors; D012574:Schools
chemical_list: D060766:Drinking Water; D005459:Fluorides
keywords: CFI score; Caries prevalence; Causal relationship; Fluoride; Oral hygiene behavior