Enamel opacities in children whose mothers took part in a dental health education scheme

One well recognised cause of enamel opacities is excessive fluoride ingestion during the period of tooth development. In the past, "fluorosis", or opacities arising from this cause, has been reported to occur in children given fluoride supplements. In a large experiment in dental health education, fluoride supplements were given regularly to many of the children in two out of three experimental groups. 126 children were dentally examined 10 yr after the scheme began, of whom 79 had regularly received fluoride drops and/or tablets for at least part of the period between birth and 5 yr of age. Labial surfaces of each child's erupted incisor teeth were examined for enamel opacities. 75% of the 126 children had at least one affected tooth. There was a statistically insignificant, but consistent, trend for the prevalence of opacities to increase with increasing duration of use of fluoride supplements.