Prevalence of dental fluorosis in disabled children and young adults in Kuwait

Abstract

Objective: The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of dental fluorosis in disabled subjects attending the special needs schools in Kuwait. Methods: Eight hundred and thirty-two subjects (442 males, and 390 females) aged 3-29 years, who were visually or hearing impaired or who had physical or developmental disorders, were included in the study. The mean age of the subjects was 12.1 years. The subjects were examined for dental fluorosis using WHO criteria. Dental fluorosis was scored according to Dean's index. Results: None of the subjects had severe fluorosis; less than 1.0% of them showed moderate fluorosis; 0.7% had mild and 2.5% had very mild fluorosis. There were no subjects with fluorosis up to the age of 7 years, but the prevalence varied from 0 to 10% between 8 and 20 years and only 1 subject above 20 years of age had fluorosis. Non-Kuwaiti nationality was a significant risk factor for the occurrence of dental fluorosis (OR = 2.4; p = 0.027). Conclusion: Fluorosis was less prevalent among these disabled subjects than had been reported among the healthy population in Kuwait. Copyright © 2001 S. Karger AG, Basel.