Assessment of the dental status of children living in an area with a low content of fluorine and iodine

Abstract

Introduction. Ukraine is a region in which an unfavorable medical and social situation has developed due to a naturally caused iodine deficiency in the biosphere. The problem of lack of micro- and macroelements, fluorine and iodine in Zakarpattia Oblast remains relevant today. Iodine deficiency, the reduced content of macro- and microelements in the environment affects not only the thyroid gland and the body as a whole, but also the state of dental health of the population living in different regions of the region. It is known from literary sources that the lack of chemical elements creates unfavorable conditions for the development and mineralization of teeth, which ultimately leads to their damage by caries. The relationship between the level of fluoride in environmental objects and the intensity of the carious process was established. Children who consume drinking water with low mineralization have a high prevalence of caries. In the biogeochemical regions of iodine deficiency, an increased incidence of dental caries has been established. Purpose: To determine the state of the dental status of children living in the city of Uzhgorod, with a low content of macro- and microelements and a lack of fluorine and iodine in environmental objects. Materials and methods. We examined 300 children aged 6, 9, and 12 years old, in secondary schools No. 2 and No. 4, who were born and lived in Uzhgorod: 144 boys and 156 girls. An examination map developed on the basis of the WHO map was used to record the results of the study. During the examination of the children’s population of different age groups, the prevalence and intensity of caries were determined (indices kp, kpv+kp and kpv were used). The state of oral hygiene of children was assessed using the OHI-S index, Green-Vermilion, (1964). The distribution of children into groups according to the degree of activity of the carious process was carried out according to the method of Vynogradova T.F. Statistical data processing was performed on a personal computer using licensed software for the Windows operating system and the standard Statsoft software package. Inc STATISTICA 6.0 2300 East 14th Street Tulsa, OK 74104 USA. Student’s t-test values were used to determine the reliability of the difference in results. Results and discussion. The results of the clinical examination indicate a difference among the indicators of carious lesions of the hard tissues of the teeth among diagnosed schoolchildren of different age groups. Among 6-year-old schoolchildren, secondary school No. 2 and secondary school No. 3 in Uzhhorod, dental caries accounted for 92.8±2.81% of cases. The intensity of caries in milk teeth (kp) was high and amounted to 4.73±0.27 V temporary teeth per one examined, and in variable bite the intensity of caries (KPV+kp) was 5.44±0.40 teeth per one schoolchild. Caries indicators are slightly lower in children of ZOSH No. 2 than in students of ZOSH No. 3, however, no significant difference between the average values of indices in children of the same age from different schools was observed. At the age of 6, 31.94±5.50% of the examined had carious and filled permanent teeth, and the KPV index was 0.74±0.14 permanent teeth per examined schoolchild. The prevalence rate of carious lesions among 9-year-old children was 50.56±5.30% of all children, the intensity of which was 1.40±0.17 permanent teeth per person examined. The frequency of caries of permanent teeth in 12-year-old schoolchildren in Uzhhorod reached 84.76+3.51%, and the level of intensity was 4.04±0.29 teeth per child. A comparative assessment of the levels of prevalence and intensity of caries of permanent teeth in children of different schools revealed their increase in students of secondary school No. 3, with the exception of the 6-year-old age group. The average value of the hygiene index OHI-S, Green-Vermilion in the examined schoolchildren was 1.98±0.05 points, which according to WHO recommendations is interpreted as high. In general, among the entire contingent of the examined, a good state of oral hygiene was recorded in 14 (5.04±1.31%) persons, satisfactory in 97 (34.89±2.86%) children, unsatisfactory in 105 (37.77± 2.91%) persons and poor – in 62 (22.30±2.50%) children. Conclusions. During the clinical examination, it was found that the prevalence and intensity of dental caries in children living in the city of Uzhhorod with a low content of macro- and microelements and a lack of iodine and fluorine are significantly high. A comparative analysis of the prevalence and intensity of caries in separate age groups of boys and girls was conducted. Among children aged 6 years, boys are more often affected by dental caries (97.67±2.30%) than girls (87.80±5.11%). The survey data showed that 105 people had unsatisfactory oral hygiene and 62 schoolchildren had poor oral hygiene. It is necessary to expand sanitary and educational work among the population and in the mass media regarding the promotion of a healthy lifestyle, timely detection and treatment of dental diseases.