Relationship of dental fluorosis to dental caries in Ireland

Method: A North South Survey of Children's Oral Health was carried out in Ireland in 2002. Children age 8, 12 and 15 years were clinically examined for dental caries (WHO criteria) and dental fluorosis (Dean's Index) by a team of trained and calibrated examiners.

Results: Results are presented for 12- and 15-year olds as there is less variation in caries levels among 8-year-olds. In RoI the mean DMFT for 12-year-olds with a Dean's score of 'normal' (n=2,867), 'questionable' (n=540), 'very mild' (n=268) and 'mild' or greater (n=155) was 1.21, 1.15, 1.12 and 1.24 respectively, In NI the corresponding figures were 1.62 (n=263), 1.33 (n=36), 0.82 (n=33) and 0.83 (n=6) The association between Dean's Index score and DMFT level was tested using ANOVA, the difference in DMFT score according to Dean's index score was significant (p = 0.0228). In RoI the mean DMFT for 15-year-olds with a Dean's score of 'normal' (n=2,362)), 'questionable' (n=570), 'very mild' (n=297) and 'mild' or greater (n=165) was 2.36, 2.59, 2.31 and 2.25 respectively, In NI the corresponding figures were 3.64 (n=507), 3.47 (n=32), 2.86 (n=50) and 0.92 (n=12. The difference in DMFT scores according to Dean's index was also significant for this age group (p=0.0028). Conclusion: mean DMFT scores are lower among children with fluorosis.