Prevalence, severity, and request for treatment of dental fluorosis among adults in an endemic region of Northern Nigeria.

OBJECTIVES

The objective was to assess the prevalence of all forms of dental fluorosis (DF), the severity, and the request for treatment as a measure of the burden of the condition among adult patients seen at a tertiary health facility in an endemic region of Northeastern Nigeria.

MATERIALS AND

METHODS

This was a cross-sectional study that collected required information using a questionnaire from adult dental patients followed by dental examination to assess for DF.

STATISTICAL ANALYSIS USED: Associations between sociodemographic distributions (age and gender) and prevalence were analyzed on the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences using the Chi-square test. Analysis was done at 95% confidence interval and the level of statistical significance was set at P < 0.05.

RESULTS

Three hundred and twelve patients (41.7%) were diagnosed with DF among the patients who resided in the endemic region with a calculated Community Fluorosis Index of 0.62. The mean age of the affected patients was 33.8 ± 9.2 years, with a majority of the patients in the 16-25 (47.4%) years' age group and a preponderance among females (P = 0.003). A greater proportion of the 312 diagnosed patients, 201 (64.3%), had fluorosis of esthetic concern, while only 9.3% sought treatment. Most of these patients that sought treatment had the severe form of the enamel defect.

CONCLUSIONS

DF should be considered as a condition of public health importance in this region. It is necessary to conduct a community-based study and fluoride mapping of the northeastern region as well to determine other factors that may contribute to its occurrence in this population.