Abstract

The aim of this study was to determine whether a relationship exists between the groundwater fluoride (F) concentration and dental caries in children living in the Noorabademamasani area of Fars Province in Iran. The residents all have essentially the same socio-economic living standards and nutritional conditions. All 3349 children in the four age groups of 6 (5.5-6.5), 9 (8.5-9.5), 10 (9.5-10.5), and 12 (11.5-12.5) years were surveyed in seven village districts of the area. F levels in the drinking water measured by the SPADNS method ranged from 0.10 to 0.53 mg/L. The overall number of decayed permanent teeth (D(t)) per child ranged between 0.16 and 0.24, and the number of decayed deciduous teeth (dt) ranged between 0.95 and 3.00. Although the F level in the drinking water is below the national levels, the dental caries rates were also below the national levels. Linear regression analyses showed only a very weak decrease between the overall D(t) and d(t) scores and increasing water F levels in the seven village districts that are not statistically significant (R(2) = 0.159, p = 0.391, and R(2) = 0.280, p = 0.267, respectively).