Use of fluoride supplementation by children living in fluoridated communities. 1990

D G Pendrys, and D E Morse
Department of Behavioral Sciences, School of Dental Medicine, University of Connecticut.

As part of a case-control study that investigated risk factors of enamel fluorosis, a fluoride/residency history was obtained covering the first six years of life by means of a mailed questionnaire, with a reliability factor of 90 percent. Of the 677 participating seventh-grade and eighth-grade children, demonstrating either mild-to-moderate dental fluorosis (fluorosis cases) or were fluorosis-free (fluorosis controls), 11 percent (N = 74) had lived in a fluoridated community for at least a year during their first six years of life. Forty percent of the fluorosis cases and 22 percent of the fluorosis controls were reported to have taken fluoride supplements during their residency in a fluoridated community, with 79 percent of the supplementation for both groups in the form of vitamins with fluoride. Further, these children had resided in more then twenty cities across ten states, and therefore do not represent just a localized problem. Such findings indicate that fluoride supplements had been incorrectly prescribed for a sizeable percentage of children residing in fluoridated areas; they also suggest an explanation for the recent increased prevalence of fluorosis in similar age-groups in some fluoridated areas. Given that the recent literature does not show that the appropriateness of supplemental prescription practices has improved for post-1975 birth cohorts, these findings suggest the need for enhanced professional education and monitoring to ensure that this occurs.

UI MeSH Term Description Entries
D008404 Massachusetts State bounded on the north by New Hampshire and Vermont, on the east by the Atlantic Ocean, on the south by Connecticut and Rhode Island, and on the west by New York.
D009050 Fluorosis, Dental A chronic endemic form of ENAMEL HYPOMINERALIZATION caused by drinking water with a high fluorine content during the time of tooth formation, and characterized by defective calcification that gives a white chalky appearance to the enamel, which gradually undergoes brown discoloration. (Jablonski's Dictionary of Dentistry, 1992, p286) Dental Fluorosis,Mottled Enamel,Mottled Teeth,Dental Fluoroses,Fluoroses, Dental,Enamel, Mottled,Mottled Enamels,Teeth, Mottled
D002648 Child A person 6 to 12 years of age. An individual 2 to 5 years old is CHILD, PRESCHOOL. Children
D003237 Connecticut State bounded on the north by Massachusetts, on the east by Rhode Island, on the south by Long Island Sound, and on the west by New York.
D005457 Fluoridation Practice of adding fluoride to water, and other food or beverages, for the purpose of preventing DENTAL CARIES. Milk Fluoridation,Salt Fluoridation,Water Fluoridation,Fluoridation, Milk,Fluoridation, Salt,Fluoridation, Water
D005459 Fluorides Inorganic salts of hydrofluoric acid, HF, in which the fluorine atom is in the -1 oxidation state. (McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific and Technical Terms, 4th ed) Sodium and stannous salts are commonly used in dentifrices. Fluoride
D006801 Humans Members of the species Homo sapiens. Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D000284 Administration, Oral The giving of drugs, chemicals, or other substances by mouth. Drug Administration, Oral,Administration, Oral Drug,Oral Administration,Oral Drug Administration,Administrations, Oral,Administrations, Oral Drug,Drug Administrations, Oral,Oral Administrations,Oral Drug Administrations
D012307 Risk Factors An aspect of personal behavior or lifestyle, environmental exposure, inborn or inherited characteristic, which, based on epidemiological evidence, is known to be associated with a health-related condition considered important to prevent. Health Correlates,Risk Factor Scores,Risk Scores,Social Risk Factors,Population at Risk,Populations at Risk,Correlates, Health,Factor, Risk,Factor, Social Risk,Factors, Social Risk,Risk Factor,Risk Factor Score,Risk Factor, Social,Risk Factors, Social,Risk Score,Score, Risk,Score, Risk Factor,Social Risk Factor
D012959 Socioeconomic Factors Social and economic factors that characterize the individual or group within the social structure. Economic and Social Factors,Social Inequalities,Social Inequality,Social and Economic Factors,Socioeconomic Characteristics,Factors, Socioeconomic,High-Income Population,Land Tenure,Standard of Living,Characteristic, Socioeconomic,Factor, Socioeconomic,High Income Population,High-Income Populations,Inequality, Social,Living Standard,Living Standards,Population, High-Income,Socioeconomic Characteristic,Socioeconomic Factor,Tenure, Land

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