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The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA |
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The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA |
Gudrun Beyer, DDS, Department of Public health, Dresden Medical School, Fetscherstr. 74, Dresden, 01307, Germany, +49-351-3177217, jokugler@aol.com and Joachim Kugler, MD, Public Health, Dresden Medical School, IMIB-Fetscherstr. 74, Dresden, 01307, Germany.
Objectives: Since the reunification of Germany, the state of Saxonia in the eastern part of Germany has had no policy on fluoridation of drinking water. In this study, we followed the issue if natural differences of fluoride levels of local water plants are determining dental health in school children.
Methods: 46.875 school children at the age of 12 years were screened for their dental health by the trained dentists of the State Health administration in Saxonia, Germany. The state of Saxonia is divided into 29 districts. For each district, dentist density and median of fluoride level of drinking water (.10 – 1.50 mg / l) were assessed.
Results: Regression analysis reveals average number of filled teeth ( as part of the DMFT-index) was determined by natural occurring fluoride level in the drinking (p<.05; adj. R-square: .16). Dentist density or population size of the district or gender did not significantly add more explained variance.
Discussion: It can be followed that naturally occurring differences of fluoride levels in drinking water determine dental health in school children. It can be concluded that even mild fluoridation of drinking water may have beneficial effects for oral health in children.
Learning Objectives:
Keywords: Oral Health, Oral Health Outcomes
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.