Prevailing Dental Fluorosis: A cross-sectional study in 12-15 year old school going children of Ambala District, Haryana, India

Introduction: As the world of dental research is approaching the peak of development in context of preventive and curative treatment options, the concern for esthetics has gained quite an importance. Dental fluorosis is the most studied causal factor resulting in discoloration of teeth. Aim: To determine the prevalence of dental fluorosis among 12-15 years old school going children in Ambala district. Methodology: this cross-sectional study was conducted on 996 school going children in the age group of 12-15 years. Clinical examination included assessment of dental fluorosis using WHO criteria (1997). The data obtained were tabulated and subjected to statistical analysis using Statistical Package for Social Sciences version 20.0 (SPSS; Chicago, IL, US) Results: Around 53.02 % of the total subjects were found to have very mild to severe fluorosis. In the present study no significant difference in the prevalence and severity of dental fluorosis was found between boys and girls. Severe form of fluorosis was only seen in 3.01 % of the total participants while fluorosis grade accounting for most number of subjects was moderate form (19.48%). Conclusion: prevalence of dental fluorosis among 12-15 year old school going children in Ambala district was found to be high. Measures like finding an alternative source of drinking water for the affected blocks or a mass defluoridation of the drinking water before distribution have to be implemented.