Fluorosis in the Primary Teeth

Determining a connection between primary and permanent fluorosis directly relates to oral health because it may help explain why so many countries (e.g., England, America, Canada) have over the last 30 years experienced significant increases in cases of fluorosis in permanent teeth thereby allowing clinicians and relevant others to take steps to lower the prevalence. The general subject, fluorosis, has a direct effect on oral health because when fluoride intake reaches toxic levels and fluorosis begins, it can result defects in the tooth enamel; if toxicity levels increase, tooth structure as well as other parts of the general body can be affected (American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry, 1999). On the other hand, minimal fluoridation of teeth (the reverse or absence of toxic levels of fluoride) has been found to reduce dental carries (American Academy of pediatric Dentistry, 1999).

Is there a connection between primary and permanent tooth fluorosis? The review article by Warren, Kanellis and Levy (1999) state that there is and conclude that it is impor

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d, at least in part, be explained by several unassessed variables. These include: prevailing temperatures; fluorides ingested from other sources; altitude; and the tendency of fluoride in drinking waters to fluctuate over time. Any one or more of these variables may have been operating to explain the study's observed differences. Relevance to the Review Subject The review subject was the association between primary tooth and permanent tooth fluorosis. The review article not only concluded that there was an association but recommended that clinicians spotting primary-tooth fluorosis review the child's fluoride exposures thoroughly as well as possible exposures of younger children. In one of the reference articles selected, Clark, Hann, Williamson and Berkowitz (1994) do investigate whether infant exposure to fluorides may explain dental fluorosis in children, concluding that at this age, the effects of exposure later on are minimal. The Clark, Hann, Williamson and Berkowitz (1994) article is not only relevant to the premise of the review article in the area delineated above, but in another way also. It was cited in the review article as an example of research indicating that permanent tooth fluorosis has increased in both fluori
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Approximate Word count = 1927
Approximate Pages = 8 (250 words per page)