Abstract

In the Guadiana Valley (the city of Durango and its surroundings in northwestern Mexico), the drinking water supply comes from underground wells and is characterized by a high content of fluoride. In this study, a quantitative assessment of dental fluorosis was made in the school age (6-12 years) and adult (13-60 years) population of Guadiana valley through a multistage sampling by conglomerates of the population. The Dean index of dental fluorosis was correlated with the fluoride concentration in drinking water. In those parts of the valley with fluoride concentrations higher than 12 mg/L, all the children surveyed exhibited dental fluorosis, and 35% of them had suffered serious damage to their teeth. A linear correlation between the Dean index of dental fluorosis and the frequency of bone fractures was also observed among both children and adults.

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