Dental fluorosis: perception of affected individuals and their parents or guardians

Abstract

Fluorosis is a alteration that occurs during the formation of the dental enamel. It is caused by the excess intake of fluoride while tooth enamel is being formed, resulting in defects in this enamel and the consequent esthetic, morphological and functional repercussions. In order to assess the perception of dental fluorosis among affected individuals and their parents or guardians, a sample consisting of 152 SESI-MG students was recruited at three municipal schools from the cities of Belo Horizonte and Contagem in 2007. The Dean index was used to evaluate the presence of fluorosis among the students and a semi-structured questionnaire was given to both students and their parents or guardians according to the World Health Organization (WHO). This instrument covered socio-demographical and economic variables, oral hygiene habits and perception of fluorosis. We observed that, in general, the presence of defects caused by fluorosis has not been observed by the individuals studied, not interfering in the level of satisfaction regarding appearance, suggesting a low social impact of this defect in this population.