Abstract

Objective: To determine the ability of students to diagnose and decide the correct treatment of fluorosis.

Study Design: Cross-sectional study.

Place and Duration of Study: Tertiary care Dental Hospital, Rawalpindi, from May to Jun 2017.

Methodology: A self-administered questionnaire containing seven pictures of different severity of fluorosis was used to assess the knowledge of students of third-year and final-year BDS.

Results: A total of 88 BDS students were included in the study. As for the question of severity, picture-5 had the correct answer 81 (92%), whereas picture-4 had the least correct answer 6 (6.8%). Picture-5 had the correct answer 77 (87.5%) for the treatment question and picture-4 had the least correct answer 6 (6.8%). Picture-5 only showed a significant difference (p= 0.001) with more correct answers for 3rd-year BDS students. More than 50% of the students correctly identified only three of the seven pictures. Severe cases were most correctly diagnosed and mild cases were least correctly diagnosed.

Conclusion: Out of the seven lesions shown to the students, only three were correctly diagnosed by more than 50% of the students. Therefore, more lectures and clinical hours for the study of fluorosis are needed.

*Original abstract online at https://www.pafmj.org/index.php/PAFMJ/article/view/8271

• Related Studies :

  • Osteo-dental fluorosis in domestic horses and donkeys in Rajasthan, India.

    Chronic fluoride (F) intoxication in the form of osteo-dental fluorosis was observed in 23 domestic equus animals, 9 to 23 years old, including 14 horses (Equus caballus), and 9 donkeys (E. asinus) living in F endemic areas of Dungarpur district, Rajasthan, India. The mean F concentration in the drinking water

  • Dental and early-stage skeletal fluorosis in children induced by fluoride in brick-tea

    Fluorosis from brick-tea was discovered during the last decade in western and northern parts of China. Dental fluorosis has a high prevalence among children in these brick-tea endemic areas, but skeletal fluorosis does not normally become apparent until adulthood. In July 2002 we examined 132 primary school children, age 8

  • Exposure to lead exacerbates dental fluorosis.

    AIM: Our aim was to test the hypothesis that co-exposure to lead and fluoride alter the severity of enamel fluorosis. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Wistar rats were allocated in four groups: control, and 3 groups that received water containing 100 ppm of fluoride (F), 30 ppm of lead (Pb), or 100 ppm of F

  • Effects of water improvement and defluoridation on fluorosis-endemic areas in China: A meta-analysis.

    Highlights The first analysis of the effect of improving water quality and reducing fluoride in China over 40 years. Analysis of the effect of water improvement and fluoride reduction in different provinces of China. We analyzed the effect of water improvement on dental fluorosis, skeletal fluorosis, and fluoride content

  • Fluoride in Drinking Water: A Scientific Review of EPA’s Standards.

    Excerpts: Summary Under the Safe Drinking Water Act, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is required to establish exposure standards for contaminants in public drinking-water systems that might cause any adverse effects on human health. These standards include the maximum contaminant level goal (MCLG), the maximum contaminant level (MCL), and the secondary

• Related FAN Content :

  • Community Fluorosis Index (CFI)

    The current Community Fluorosis Index for U.S. adolescents as a whole (from both fluoridated and non-fluoridated areas) is roughly 5 times higher than the CFI health authorities predicted for fluoridated areas when fluoridation first began. It is also higher than the CFI that the NIDR found in fluoridated areas back in the 1980s. It is readily apparent, therefore, that children are ingesting far more fluoride than was the case in the 1950s, and even as recently as the 1980s.

  • "Mild" Dental Fluorosis: Perceptions & Psychological Impact

    The vast majority of research has found that patients, parents, and the general public alike view mild fluorosis (TF score 3) as a significant blemish of the teeth, one that is likely to embarrass the affected child to a degree that cosmetic treatment would be warranted.

  • Dental Fluorosis Impacts Dentin in Addition to Enamel

    Dental fluorosis is a mineralization defect of tooth enamel marked by increased subsurface porosity. The enamel, however, is not the only component of teeth that is effected. As several studies have demonstrated, dental fluorosis can also impair the mineralization of dentin as well. As noted in one review: "The fact that

  • Severe Dental Fluorosis: Perception and Psychological Impact

    [caption id="attachment_8879" align="aligncenter" width="550"] Severe fluorosis - Photograph by David Kennedy, DDS[/caption] In its severe forms, dental fluorosis causes highly disfiguring brown and black staining of the teeth, which can cause chronic embarrassment and social anxiety for the impacted child. In 1984, a panel from the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) warned

  • Diagnostic Criteria for Dental Fluorosis: The Thylstrup-Fejerskov (TF) Index

    The traditional criteria (the "Dean Index") for diagnosing dental fluorosis was developed in the first half of the 20th century by H. Trendley Dean. While the Dean Index is still widely used in surveys of fluorosis -- including the CDC's national surveys of fluorosis in the United States -- dental