Prevalence and severity of dental fluorosis in relation to fluoride in ground water in the villages of Birbhum district, West Bengal, India

In relation to fluoride in ground water, dental fluorosis is studied in seven villages, viz., Nasipur, Vabanandapur, and Deshnabagram under Nalhati I block and Kamdebpur, Chalk Atla, Nowapara, and Junitpur under Rampurhat II block, of Birbhum district, West Bengal, India. Water samples (N = 70) were collected from the tube wells of the mentioned villages in the months of December 2010 to February 2011 and analyzed for fluoride and other water parameters. The study result revealed that the fluoride levels of almost all the water samples (95.7%) were higher than 1.5 mg/L, with mean values of 3.15 and 3.83 mg/L in Nalhati I block and Rampurhat II block, respectively. Dental fluorosis of 490 respondents was visually determined by a competent dentist using Dean’s index (DI) and the tooth surface index of fluorosis (TSIF). According to the DI, the percentage of severely affected respondents was lowest in Chalk Atla (0%) and highest in Deshnabagram (50%). The percentage of severely affected respondents was lowest in Kamdebpur and Chalk Atla (0%) and highest in Nowapara (20%) according to the TSIF score. The age group 10–20 years showed the highest percentage of severe DI (40.8%) and the age group 21–30 years showed the highest percentage of severe TSIF (22.51%) compared to the other age groups in the study. The positive relationship between the fluoride level in water and the severity of dental fluorosis has been proved statistically. The high mean score of dental fluorosis indicates that dental fluorosis is endemic throughout the study area.